Strong Thunderstorms Cause Widespread Power Outages
SECO Energy was “Storm Ready” this weekend and has restored power to all members affected by lines of strong thunderstorms that passed through its seven Central Florida counties on Sunday. Tornado warnings and watches were in effect throughout the day Sunday.
SECO took steps before the weekend began, to prepare for the possibility of the thunderstorms and high winds creating power outages. Field crews, tree trimming contractors, warehouse and customer support employees worked overnight replacing broken poles, removing fallen trees and communicating with members.
The storm came in from the west and first reached northern Marion and Levy Counties just before 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. The high winds brought down a large oak tree near the Ocala Park area that destroyed three spans of lines and other equipment. That large outage began a series of wind and tree-related service disruptions that continued into the evening.
An additional line of storms brought the possibility of tornados and hail as it blew through Citrus, Marion and Northern Lake Counties before impacting Sumter and south Lake Counties around 9:00 p.m. Sunday. High wind speeds and heavy rain accompanied this second line of storms along with unconfirmed reports of tornados in the area.
The total outages during the storms per county were:
Marion and Levy: 5,342
Citrus: 2,239
Lake: 977
Sumter: 938
Kathryn Gloria, Vice President of Corporate Communications and Energy Services stated, “SECO’s system held up very well when the storms brought high wind and rains yesterday. Less than 9,500 members experienced an outage during the storms last night and early this morning. Field crews and tree trimming contractors are out in full force today inspecting the system for damage along with identifying and removing damaged trees that have the potential to cause outages in the future.”
Gloria added, “We are thankful that our employees returned home to their families safely after working in adverse conditions over the weekend. We appreciate our members’ patience and support during the disruptions, and we’re grateful that the storm caused only minimal damage in our service area.”
SECO Energy is Storm Ready. Visit our Reliability page to learn how to build an emergency kit and take steps to keep your family safe when storms blow through SECO’s territory.
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