Hurricane Irma Power Outage Numbers Dwindling
The number of power outages caused by Hurricane Irma’s wrath as it blazed through SECO Energy’s territory are dwindling. SECO crews along with hundreds of contract line and tree trimming crews continued tackling the sections of SECO’s service area hardest hit by Hurricane Irma.
On Monday morning when hurricane winds subsided, our systems indicated more than 110,000 reported power outages out of SECO’s 200,000 members. Crews began rebuilding and repairing feeder lines after winds subsided at noon on Monday. As of Saturday, at 12 pm, SECO’s Storm Center outage map indicates less than 10,000 members remained without power. Restoration and recovery in some communities is a long process due to significant damage and high water. SECO’s goal is full restoration for all members by Sunday at noon.
SECO understands that members with prolonged outages are frustrated. Isolated thunderstorms on Friday hampered efforts in a few areas, but fortunately, widespread storms that were forecast held off. Crews made good progress throughout the day and overnight. Saturday’s forecast calls for a 50% chance of thunderstorms, keep your fingers crossed and pray the rains stay away. If lightning conditions occur, line work comes to a stop for safety reasons.
Florida mandates that facilities such as hospitals, shelters, schools and government offices are given highest priority when restoration begins. SECO restored power to these facilities first. Assisted-living, non-hospital medical facilities, nursing homes, gas stations and communications towers running on generator power began running out of fuel Thursday. These necessarily became a priority. SECO’s crews are pulled in many directions so members may see crews leaving residential areas that are not yet completely restored. Homes in one subdivision on one side of the street may have power while the other side does not. This can occur where one line ends and another line begins.
The electric system design is complicated, and we’ve developed an online visual to help members understand where the feeders/lines are located. SECO’s interactive restoration plan map was updated overnight to reflect Saturday’s planned restoration areas. Members can use the daily restoration plan map to input their service address and determine if their area is included in the current day’s restoration plan. Substations are labeled as a reference and feeders are outlined in polygons. To use the map, visit www.SECOEnergy.com and hover over “Contact Us” in the top right corner. Select “Daily Restoration Plan.”
The following is a summary of substations and feeders where crews are or will be TODAY performing repairs and restoration:
Sumterville District Office:
• Wildwood substation north of CR-222 in Sumter County.
• Lake Ella substation in Fruitland Park in Lake County.
• Bushnell substation in Sumter County on CR-48.
• Lake Panasoffkee substation on CR 416N in Sumter County.
• Sumterville substation on South Hwy 301 in Sumter County.
• Webster substation on CR 753 in Sumter County.
Eustis District Office:
• Sorrento substation on CR 437 in Lake County.
• Deer Island substation on CR 448 in Tavares.
• Linadale substation in Umatilla in Lake County.
• St. Johns substation in Lake County off Lake Mack Drive in Deland.
• Paisley substation off Maggie Jones Road in Lake County.
Ocala District Office:
• Dallas substation serving CR-42 and Hwy 301 in Marion County.
• Belleview substation serving Belleview and Summerfield in Marion County.
• Timberwood substation in Marion County off 60th Avenue in Ocala.
• Waterways substation on SW 49th Ave in Ocala.
• Martel substation in NW Ocala off 110th Ave in Marion County.
• Ocala substation on SW 80th Street in Marion County.
• Blitchton substation on NW Hwy 464 in Morriston.
• Marion Oaks substation in Ocala on SW 134 Loop in Marion County.
• Lady Lake substation on Griffin Ave in Lake County.
• Summerglen substation on SW 16th Ave in Ocala.
Please keep in mind that Hurricane Irma just left SECO’s service area late Monday morning. Even the storms of 2004 didn’t hit SECO’s area this hard and with this much damage. The system disruption is unprecedented and SECO is doing its best to quickly and fully recover.
During this time of prolonged outages from Hurricane Irma, if you are using a generator, never let it operate in an enclosed space such as your home, garage or enclosed porch. Generators emit carbon monoxide, a silent, odorless killer. There are multiple reports of Central Floridians who have been rushed to the hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning, and some of these cases were fatal. Read and follow manufacturer’s safety warnings when operating a generator.
As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, SECO is dedicated to being our members’ first source for accurate storm information. “Like” SECO’s Facebook page and “follow” the company on Twitter to stay updated about storms affecting our area.
