Tampa Electric readies for hurricane season, advises residents to do so too

Hurricane season swings into gear Saturday and Tampa Electric Co. (TECO) is advising residents on how to best prepare for the so-called “Mean Season,” which runs through the end of November.

The utility provider says Floridians should be prepared for tropical blasts throughout the year. Residents who have year-round preparations are realistically approaching readiness for hurricanes now, though the company realizes that a little reminder never hurts.

TECO officials are already engaging in the company’s Storm Protection Program (SPP) in preparation for Hurricane Season.

“Tampa Electric invests hundreds of millions of dollars each year to strengthen the system against severe weather, which includes putting power lines underground, strengthening power poles and substations and trimming trees. Tampa Electric’s Storm Protection Program (SPP) helps to strengthen the system to better withstand extreme weather events, such as hurricanes,” a TECO news release said Wednesday.

“This program will mean fewer outages for customers, and shorter outages after extreme weather events. Of Tampa Electric’s 12,000 miles of power lines, about half are underground. The SPP has converted more than 200 miles of power lines to underground since 2021. Tree-related outages have dropped by 60 percent since 2019.”

While the utility company is already bracing for hurricane season, officials are providing tips for customers to help get themselves ready. They can visit the company’s outage map online to report and track power outages.

They can also text the company by typing “OUT” to 27079, call TECO’s outage phone notifications at 1-877-588-588-1010 and sign up for free outage notifications online by visiting TECOaccount.com/notifications. The company will also use social media to alert residents of storm issues.

TECO officials offer other simple reminders including residents should stay away from any downed power lines and if power is out, use portable generators safely and don’t connect that generator directly into a home circuit if power is lost. Plug appliances into the generator itself. Generators should also be stationed in a dry and outdoor area more than 20 feet away from a home or enclosed building.

Tampa Electric has about 860,000 customers in West Central Florida.