Duke Energy Florida is taking proactive measures to prepare for the 2025 hurricane season, which began on June 1. The company has been working year-round to strengthen its infrastructure and employ smart tools aimed at reducing power outages and speeding up restoration for its 2 million customers.
Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president, stated, “I’m extremely proud of how we’ve responded to storms in the past, but we’re determined to keep getting better. We’ve been working, and will continue working every single day, to harden our equipment and implement state-of-the-art technology that will make our electric grid more efficient and resilient, ready for when the next storm hits. Our customers deserve nothing less.”
To bolster its system against storms, Duke Energy Florida has replaced about 60% of its wooden transmission poles with concrete or steel over the past five years. The company aims to complete this transition by 2028. Additionally, around half of its distribution system is now underground to protect it from extreme weather conditions. Distribution hardening projects have been completed across 38 substations with more underway.
The company also employs teams of professional arborists who maintain trees and vegetation that could threaten equipment. In 2024 alone, these teams completed maintenance trimming on over 4,000 miles of distribution lines and plan nearly 660 miles of work on transmission lines this year.
In terms of technology, Duke Energy Florida uses self-healing technology similar to GPS navigation systems that detect outages and reroute power automatically. This helps restore service faster for customers—often in under a minute—and currently benefits over 75% of their customer base. During recent hurricanes such as Milton, Helene, and Debby, millions of outage hours were saved due to this technology.
During the last hurricane season in 2024:
- "95% of outages (outside of the hardest-hit areas) were restored within 96 hours after Hurricane Milton."
- "95% of outages (for those able to receive power) were restored within 72 hours after Hurricane Helene."
- "95% of outages were restored within 24 hours after Hurricane Debby."
Between 2018 and 2024, Duke Energy reduced the average length of customer outages by 27%.
Duke Energy Florida advises customers to prioritize personal preparedness before a storm hits by creating an emergency supply kit and making plans for extended power outages if necessary. Customers are encouraged to sign up for Outage Alerts through various channels provided by Duke Energy.
For further information on storm preparation tips or updates from Duke Energy Florida during hurricane season visit their website or follow them on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.