Commission Approves Storm Preparation Plans

The plans, filed in response to an April Commission order, address ten initiatives to improve the utilities’ long-term ability to minimize future damages and customer outages related to hurricanes and other severe weather events. The initiatives include more aggressive vegetation management, development of more detailed storm data, strengthening existing transmission structures, and increased utility coordination with local governments to facilitate more effective communication on an ongoing basis.

In approving the plans of Florida Power & Light Company (FP&L), Florida Public Utilities Company (FPUC), Gulf Power Company (Gulf), Progress Energy Florida (Progress), and Tampa Electric Company (TECO), the Commission stressed that these initiatives are the starting point of ongoing efforts to strengthen Florida’s electric infrastructure. The utility plans will be reviewed and updated by the Commission on an annual basis.