TAMPA, Fla. — Right now, Tampa Electric Company is preparing for hurricane season. It's work they do year-round to keep the lights on and shorten response times.
When a storm hits and power outages occur, the response is planned in the energy control center.
"We start switching customers around to try to energize them as soon as possible," Irma Lawrence, the center manager said. "And as you know, as safely and efficiently as possible. And then, obviously, we send a crew if we need to, or we send a troubleshooter as well, and try to get customers restored."
The space becomes a command center of sorts with employees working long hours until power has been rebooted.
"During the hurricane, it gets very, very hectic in this room," Lawrence said.
The prep work they do includes mock storms and even mock manholes. About half of TECO's power lines are underground. So when restoration or repairs are needed network specialists are crawling underground to get the job done.
"Underground power lines are slightly more reliable than overhead power lines," Cherie Jacobs, a TECO spokesperson, said. "However, there's a problem with underground power lines. The problem is harder to find, and it can take longer to fix."
Sometimes when high tides and storm surges threaten underground lines, TECO proactively cuts power.
"Instead of being destroyed by the saltwater, it can be shut down, safely cleaned and put back in service. It reduces restoration time in an underground network," Jacobs said.
When repairs are made, safety precautions can save lives.
"It can pinpoint where the emission is coming from up to a 300-foot radius," Wael Khoury, an engineer with Peoples Gas, said.
State-of-the-art tech enables engineers to catch small leaks before they become big ones, all by driving a car through damaged areas.
"[It] gives you the result in real-time so you can actually look at the results while you're driving and making sure any kind of emission it appears it gives you it gives you an alarm so you know that you need to respond right away," Khoury said.