Duke Energy Florida Prepares for Hurricane Season

Hurricane season started June 1. And with that comes installing stronger utility poles in vulnerable areas across the state to withstand high winds better.

Hardening efforts include installing larger, stronger poles that are less susceptible to damage from wind and flying debris during extreme weather events such as hurricanes.

Duke Energy uses previous performance history, asset data, vegetation coverage, and predicted weather impact to determine which areas would be ideal for hardening efforts.

Duke Energy Florida Upgrades Poles

Since 2021, the company has hardened more than 12,000 poles on its distribution system and 4,000 on its transmission system.

Pole upgrades are just some of the many Duke Energy Florida projects underway to:

• Strengthen the electric system.
• Reduce outage frequency and duration.
• Enhance overall reliability for customers.

Throughout the year, the company installs stronger poles and upgrades wires, places outage-prone lines underground, trims vegetation near power lines, and installs self-healing technology to automatically detect power outages and reroute power to other lines to restore power faster.