In Florida, dependable energy isn’t just a convenience; it’s a lifeline. In a state prone to extreme weather, reliable power during and after storms is vital to the well-being of our communities and to the health of our economy. At Tampa Electric, we prepare year-round for hurricane season with proactive measures, such as routinely inspecting and maintaining power poles to ensure their durability and installing self-healing technology, which automatically detects outages and reroutes power to often restore service in seconds without a crew.
Beyond these ongoing efforts, our Storm Protection Plan represents a long-term investment in resilience, designed to ensure our infrastructure remains robust and capable of recovering quickly after intense weather events.
Tampa Electric invests about $200 million a year to strengthen power lines, convert overhead lines to underground, trim more trees and upgrade substations — key steps to mitigate the impact of storms and enhance the reliability of our customers’ electricity. The protection plan is a model of efficiency, grounded in a careful analysis of the best solutions for our customers.
These investments are benefiting our customers with faster power restoration, reduced service interruptions and long-term cost savings. Since the introduction of the Storm Protection Plan in 2019, we’ve made significant strides: a 60% reduction in tree-related outages, a 35% decrease in average outage duration, and a 67% reduction in power flickers.
We have achieved a reliability rate of nearly 99.98% for our 860,000 customers in West Central Florida. This remarkable outcome is the result of intentional, data-driven efforts, shaped by insights from major storms, like hurricanes Milton and Helene. These experiences help us to continually refine our strategies to bolster grid resilience.
Our storm planning and response have earned national recognition. In 2024, the Edison Electric Institute honored us with the Emergency Response Award for our swift and effective power restoration after Hurricane Milton. We also received Chartwell’s 2025 Bronze Outage Communications Award for enhancing customer communications ahead of last year’s intense storm season.
And we continue to make improvements. For example, we’re raising critical equipment in substations and installing submersible equipment in other areas to better withstand storm surge. In 2024 alone, we strengthened or replaced more than 1,000 distribution power poles, converted 60 miles of overhead power lines to underground, and trimmed tree limbs and branches from more than 3,300 miles of overhead power lines.
These investments, along with the collaborative efforts of our state leadership, are creating a more resilient Florida, where communities are better prepared and better protected in the face of natural disasters.
The benefits of the protection plan extend beyond faster power restoration. Quicker restoration times have a direct impact on Florida’s economy. According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Interruption Cost Estimate calculator, a quicker recovery enabled by the protection plan can save billions of dollars in lost productivity — potentially $2 billion in the case of a storm like Hurricane Milton.
From tourism to small businesses, the financial loss associated with extended outages can be felt across the state. By continually strengthening our grid, we ensure Florida’s resilience to help the state remain operational and competitive even in the face of natural disasters.
Looking ahead, we remain committed to strengthening our grid, to ensure it is one of the most reliable and storm-resilient in the nation. This ongoing investment will benefit generations to come, to make sure that Florida stays open for business, and ready for whatever the next storm season may bring.
