NEWS

Gulf Power preps for hurricane season

Kevin Robinson
krobinson4@pnj.com
A Gulf Power worker repairs a downed power line caused by wind gusts at the corner of Main Street and Barrancas Avenue.

It's impossible to know when the next hurricane will hit Florida, but sooner or later a major storm will come.

Gulf Power is getting ready for "sooner or later" now.

Employees of the energy provider spent Tuesday running hurricane-response drills at the Douglas McCrary Training and Storm Center on Pine Forest Road. In the simulation, employees were tasked with rebuilding the power grid a day after "Hurricane Sharon" made landfall in Navarre.

"We do this every year, and it really is a way to test all of our systems and test our processes," said Jeff Rogers, Gulf Power's external communications manager. "We're very good at restoration, but we can always be better."

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Workers went through the paces of their storm-related duties, assessed the status of power plants, substations and other facilities, and adapted on the fly as administrators presented them unexpected complications that could occur in the real world.

Rogers said the Gulf Power team had responded exceptionally well to recent emergencies such as the tornadoes in February and the severe flooding in 2014. He said responses would only continue to improve thanks to efforts like the annual training and the partnerships with other utility companies around the country.

"Our crews get a lot of practice throughout the year," Rogers said. "They go and help other utilities. In fact, since 2008 they've been out 30 times — winter storms, following tornadoes — and that really helps develop skills and keep them sharp ... every time they go out, they come back better."

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Hurricane season begins June 1, and Gulf Power is asking customers to start thinking about their own storm readiness. Gulf Power’s storm center website offers comprehensive preparation and safety information, as well as general storm tips and directions on how to report outages. At MyGulfPower.com, click on the Community tab and select Storm Information. This page will be prominently featured once a storm enters the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf Power follows a detailed plan to rebuild the power grid after a storm and works closely with county Emergency Management personnel, according to the company. If needed, the company is prepared to bring in thousands of outside utility workers to help during a disaster.

Citizens also can track and report outages with the Gulf Power app, which is available by searching "Gulf Power" in iTunes or the Google Play Store.