SECO Energy Tracking Tropical Depression Fred
SECO Energy is tracking Tropical Depression Fred as it moves closer to the Florida Peninsula. Currently a tropical depression, forecasters predict that Fred will pick up speed and intensity to become a tropical storm before making landfall.
Tropical Depression Fred is moving west-northwest at 10 mph with sustained winds of 35 mph. The National Hurricane Center warns Floridians along the west coast to prepare for heavy rain and possible flooding beginning on Sunday. Current models show a possible landfall in Big Bend area in the Panhandle early Monday morning as a tropical storm.
SECO members will feel the effects from Tropical Storm Fred on Sunday. Fred’s outer rainbands will affect SECO’s service area for over 24 hours from early Sunday morning through Monday morning. Wind gusts off Florida’s west coast could be as high as 50 mph. The western portion of SECO’s service area especially Citrus County will feel the worst impact with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph. Expect severe weather and possible tornadoes. SECO’s service territory has experienced above-average rainfall the last two months which means more rain could bring trees crashing down and create extended power outages.
CEO Jim Duncan encourages members to monitor Tropical Depression Fred stating, “Tropical Depression Fred has the potential to bring heavy rain and winds to our area. Fred will most likely develop into a tropical storm. SECO Energy is prepared for Tropical Depression Fred and the weather effects this system will bring into our area. Now is the time to prepare your home and families and gather your emergency supplies. Don’t wait until the last minute to prepare.”
Duncan also reminded members that SECO Energy’s StormCenter outage reporting and communications platform offers outage alerts. “StormCenter is available for members to report outages using their smartphones or tablets 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Members should also enroll in outage notifications and alerts via email, text, voice message, or all three. An alert is sent when the system recognizes that your service has been interrupted. The alert will include crew status and an estimated restoration time. You’ll also receive a notification when the service is restored that includes the cause of the outage if it is known at that time.”
Members should visit StormCenter and bookmark the site on their smartphones or tablets. At StormCenter, members can view the outage map, manage notifications, check the status of an existing outage, report an area light outage and more.
Stay up to date on weather affecting SECO Energy’s service area, the latest news releases and cooperative updates by “liking” SECO’s Facebook page and “follow” @SECOEnergy on Twitter.
