Duke Energy has mobilized over 5,000 responders as the company prepares for power outages caused by fast-approaching Hurricane Idalia.
The storm is expected to reach the Florida Gulf Coast by late Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
“Duke Energy crews and additional workers from across the country are staged throughout Florida’s service territory,” said Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida’s storm director. “We appreciate the assistance from our contractor partners who will help speed power restoration, as soon as weather conditions safely allow.”
Duke has a large contingent of crews based at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and The Villages, just south of Ocala, the company said.
Power restoration crews will begin working immediately after the storm, Duke said, but restoration efficiency improves as damage assessment information is available to ensure the right workers and materials are dispatched to each power outage location.
The company will provide estimated power restoration times to customers once damage assessments are completed. The company also will provide regular updates to customers and communities through emails, text messages, outbound phone calls, social media, and its website, which includes an interactive outage map. The outage map allows customers to view up-to-date information on power outages, including the total number of outages systemwide and estimated times of restoration.
