Duke Energy Florida has finished building its Ulmerton Storm Staging Site in Pinellas County. The new facility will serve as a central location for storm response resources, including equipment, trucks, and lineworkers, during hurricane events. This site is the company’s first dedicated storm staging area in the county and aims to support faster power restoration for customers in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and surrounding areas.
Previously, Duke Energy Florida used temporary spaces at local businesses and community organizations such as St. Pete College, Tropicana Field, Wagon Wheel Flea Market, churches, and other partners. These locations were often unavailable after storms when normal operations resumed. The Ulmerton site provides a permanent solution for housing crews and resources as long as needed after severe weather.
According to Melissa Seixas, president of Duke Energy Florida: “Our customers in St Petersburg and Clearwater can be reassured that we are working as quickly as possible to restore power in the event of a hurricane in our area. Dedicated storm staging sites, like our newest one at Ulmerton, will allow us to host critical resources close by so we can quickly turn lights back on for our customers.”
Todd Fountain, general manager of emergency preparedness at Duke Energy Florida added: “From the Ulmerton Storm Staging Site, we’ll be able to get right into all areas of Pinellas County. Having our staging site centrally located helps us get to critical areas faster. We learned during past storms the importance of getting resources here prior to the storm making landfall. So, we’ll house teams in a safe place, just outside the path of the storm, and keep about 300 vehicles at the staging site so we’re ready to go as soon as it’s safe.”
Duke Energy Florida operates across a 13,000-square-mile service area with 12,300 megawatts of energy capacity serving two million customers throughout Florida.
Its parent company Duke Energy is among America’s largest energy holding companies with electric utilities serving 8.4 million customers across six states and natural gas utilities serving 1.7 million customers across five states.
More information about Duke Energy is available through their website or social media channels.
