LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Power companies like LCEC and FPL are preparing for Tropical Storm Idalia. Some are confident the power will hold up in some areas because of new infrastructure built after Hurricane Ian.
LCEC says it has crews staged on Sanibel, Pine Island, Marco Island and North Fort Myers. Karen Ryan, spokesperson for LCEC, says with new infrastructure after Ian, they don't anticipate widespread outages.
"Fortunately or unfortunately with Hurricane Ian, much of the infrastructure was rebuilt, so we’re looking at fairly new infrastructure," she explained. "There will be scattered outages. There always is with a tropical storm, so there will be some isolated, scattered outages."
Though they have new lines, poles and transmitters, it will not stop a power outage if something hits it.
"Most of the time the power lines are impacted due to flying debris, vegetation — all of those types of things," Ryan said. "Anything that can become airborne, bring it inside."
Currently, here's a look at the resources LCEC has ready to go for Idalia:
- 210 line personnel and 60 tree trimmer personnel in place in preparation for Idalia.
- 225 line personnel and 10 tree trimmer personnel on the LCEC system by close-of-business today if projections for Tropical Storm Idalia begin to show a direct impact to SWFL and intensification models increase to hurricane strength.
- 750 line personnel and 120 tree trimmer personnel on stand-by for Wednesday or after the storm passes.
LCEC says it also been in contact with the Florida Electric Cooperative Association, Duke Energy and FPL in case the company needs extra help.
As for FPL, the company says it's setting up its workforce restoration plans and pre-positioning crews and equipment to speed up restoration. They're also finalizing logistic sites in the areas most likely affected by Idalia.
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