Hurricane Season: FPL Prepares to Weather the Storm

Photos by FPL

The 2022 storm season is here, FPL preparations are in full swing, and yours should be, too. Learn more in this article.

Florida is a truly beautiful place to live with its warm weather, beautiful beaches, and lush vegetation, but the storms that come along with it can be brutal and devastating for those caught unprepared. We spoke to Florencia Olivera, Communication Manager at Florida Power & Light, to find out how the company is preparing for the 2022 storm season and how the community can prepare themselves.

Olivera, who has been at FPL for almost a decade in various roles, explained that the company’s preparations are not limited to the storm season, but happen year round. “Every day that we’re not in a storm, we’re preparing for one.”
Since 2006, FPL has invested heavily into improving its infrastructure, including replacing wooden transmission structures with hardier steel and concrete ones, placing more underground power lines in neighborhoods, and maintaining vegetation along the power lines.

According to Olivera, “Technology is really one of the biggest ways that we are now preparing for hurricanes and quite frankly, every day as we provide service to our customers.”
Power outages are detected as they happen by more than 195,000 intelligent devices installed along the grid. Additionally, daily drone flights and infrared technology can determine equipment status and assess damages following severe weather, which means shorter restoration times and a quicker return to service.

When asked how the community should prepare for the coming storm season, Olivera said, “Just like FPL prepares for storm season and has a proven plan to put in place, our customers should as well.” She continued that people should have a storm plan and discuss it with their families. “If you’re in an evacuation area, make sure that you know the evacuation routes, make sure that you’re prepared at home and have plenty of water, food, flashlights, batteries, all the things that you may need in case of a power outage.”

Olivera also stressed that, thanks to the smart technology available, FPL knows when customers are without power, and will always restore power as soon as possible. She requested that residents not call the company during emergency situations in order to keep the lines clear.

Most importantly, people should not attempt to restore power or perform any maintenance themselves. “If you see an electrical line that is down, always assume that it’s charged and stay far away from it. You can report it to 911 or to FPL.”
The key takeaway here is that there is no such thing as being too prepared when it comes to the storm season.