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SECO Energy Joins Hurricane Idalia Restoration Effort

SECO Energy is lending a hand to a fellow Florida cooperative Tri-County Electric Cooperative in Madison. Tri-County’s service area was ravaged by Hurricane Idalia as it made landfall in the Big Bend area on Wednesday, August 30. When Tri-County put out the call for mutual aid from its fellow cooperatives, SECO Energy answered the call to join the restoration effort in the Panhandle. 

 

On Friday, September 1, a contingent of SECO Energy line employees, a superintendent, a supervisor and mechanic, left the Ocala Operations Center on their way to Tri-County Electric Cooperative. Tri-County serves almost 25,000 members in Jefferson, Madison and Taylor Counties. This area includes some of the most devastated areas in the state. Currently, almost 30,000 homes and businesses are without power in Tri-County Electric’s three-county service territory.  

 

Cooperation Among Cooperatives and Concern for Community are two of the Seven Cooperative Principles to which cooperatives adhere. Providing mutual aid in the form of experienced technicians and other resources is critical for restoring essential electric service to all residents affected by Hurricane Idalia.  

 

SECO Energy also released seven full-time Pike contract crews that are stationed at SECO to Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) in Live Oak, Florida. SVEC serves more than 28,000 members in Columbia, Hamilton, Lafayette and Suwannee Counties. Over 40,000 members are waiting for power restoration in these four counties. 

 

CEO Curtis Wynn is pleased to assist SECO Energy’s cooperative peers. Wynn stated, “We are extremely thankful that SECO Energy’s service area and members were spared the brunt of Hurricane Idalia’s destruction. It is our privilege to assist both Tri-County Electric Cooperative and Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative. When we asked for volunteers to travel to these hurricane-devastated areas, many of our team members volunteered quickly to assist.” 

 

“During major storm repairs, mutual aid is a tenet that leads our cooperative and others across the state. We are praying for our teams’ safety and that of all utility workers who are traveling and working to make Floridian’s lives better every day.” 

 

“Like” SECO Energy on Facebook and follow @SECOEnergy on X (formerly, Twitter) for news releases, and severe weather alerts affecting SECO Energy’s service territory. Manage your outage notification preferences at StormCenter. To see when SECO Energy crews and contractors are working in your area, visit the System Improvement map. To learn more about SECO Energy as a not-for-profit cooperative, visit SECOEnergy.com > Your Co-op > About. 

SECO Energy Recovers from Hurricane Idalia

SECO Energy is recovering from Hurricane Idalia as the storm’s outer rain bands and tropical storm-force winds moved across its Central Florida service area. SECO employees and contracted line and tree crews worked overnight Tuesday into Wednesday through inclement weather to restore service to members affected by power outages. SECO welcomed almost 500 mutual aid crews to aid in the restoration effort. 

 

In the last 24 hours, just over 10,400 members experienced a service interruption due to Hurricane Idalia. As of 12:00 p.m., just over 600 accounts remain out of service. The hurricane made landfall near Keaton Beach at 7:45 a.m., sparing Central Florida from the heaviest winds and most severe damage imposed by the hurricane. Idalia’s wind and rain bands extended into the SECO Energy service territory late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning as it moved north, nearly 100 miles west of Tampa Bay. 

 

The Big Bend of Florida took the brunt of Hurricane Idalia’s Category 3 winds and unprecedented storm surge that pummeled the shoreline from Cedar Key to Horseshoe Beach. Extreme wind warnings were issued to parts of Taylor and Madison County, including the towns of Perry, Steinhatchee, Lee, Madison, Hanson and Pinetta. 

  

CEO Curtis Wynn was grateful for the limited impact Hurricane Idalia had on the not-for-profit electric cooperative’s 230,000+ members and praised the SECO team and mutual aid crews for their preparation. Wynn stated, “Our team was exceptionally well-prepared for Hurricane Idalia and their response was second to none. We caught a break – Hurricane Idalia could have turned east and left us with massive outages and destruction. There is no guarantee with the weather. StormReady means that we prepare for and are ready for emergencies that storms often create. We bring in the appropriate number of outside contractors and, with our own team of employees, apply the appropriate response plan.” 

 

StormCenter is SECO Energy’s outage and communications platform for members to report outages, check the status of an existing outage and enroll in outage communications and alerts via email, text, voice or all three. Visit StormCenter and bookmark it on your smartphone or tablet to report outages quickly and easily. 

 

SECO Energy’s Hurricane Handbook includes how to prepare before, during and after a storm. “Like” SECO Energy on Facebook and follow @SECOEnergy on X (formerly, Twitter) for news releases, and severe weather alerts affecting SECO Energy’s service territory. Manage your outage notification preferences at StormCenter. To see when SECO Energy crews and contractors are working in your area, visit the System Improvement map. To learn more about SECO Energy as a not-for-profit cooperative, visit SECOEnergy.com > Your Co-op > About.

SECO Energy Responds to Truck Meets Pole Incident

The costs that originate from distracted driving accidents are numerous and can often involve injury or loss of life. In cases where human health is not directly impacted, financial burdens can still be significant when vehicles go where they should not be due to operator negligence.

 

On one recent July morning, three SECO Energy poles that supply electricity to residences and two businesses served by the cooperative were destroyed when a heavy vehicle struck guy wires crossing County Road 474 in Clermont. The impact dragged the support wires and pulled the connected poles down, disrupting electric service to 85 members.

 

Although SECO Energy’s power distribution automation system provided near-instantaneous resumption of electricity to 64 members, 21 members remained without power for nearly eight hours as SECO line crews worked through rain and lightning to restore service safely.

 

Distracted Driving Suspected

The cause of the mishap appears to have been a dump truck-type vehicle that was traveling with its equipment in an elevated position as it crossed under SECO Energy’s power lines, ripping energized lines from their supports. Further damage occurred when a second heavy truck followed the incident and struck pieces of the fallen debris. Most disturbing, the drivers of both vehicles left the scene without stopping.

 

SECO utility pole replacementDistracted driving may have accounted for the first vehicle accident. That may have also been the case with the second vehicle that struck the fallen wires as the driver clearly did not recognize the hazard in the roadway ahead and didn’t make the appropriate effort to avoid it.

 

The consequences of the outage were costly for Cemex, a sand mine that lost productivity for much of the day due to the lack of electric service. Crews installed a set of temporary switches to isolate the outage and expedite the restoration for 16 members and E. R. Jahna Industries, another sand mine located off CR 474. Not only was a large commercial account interrupted, but SECO residential members were out of power for a significant amount of time.

 

The SECO facility damage was significant also. Due to driver negligence, SECO spent costly hours repairing power lines, replacing three poles and re-energizing services amid heavy rain and nearby electrical storms. SECO Energy crews replaced all broken poles, repaired lines and restored service to all members affected by the outages by 3:11 p.m.

 

In addition to the loss of revenue associated with power lines torn down by avoidable distracted driving, the risk of injury or even death to line workers is considerable. Public safety is at risk, too; often downed lines remain energized and can kill or significantly injure a member of the public who encounters downed power lines.

 

CEO Wynn Cautions Drivers

Lightning strike during line repairCEO Curtis Wynn is concerned with the number of vehicle accidents that damage SECO Energy facilities. Wynn stated, “SECO Energy crews are trained to perform power restoration in all weather conditions, day or night, rain or shine. Linework is inherently dangerous, but the possibility of injury increases when wind, rain, storms and road traffic are present. With the high number of heavy-duty vehicles on the road for new construction tasks and an increasing number of Florida citizens driving, our local roadways are becoming more dangerous.”

 

Wynn continued, “This is a reminder to limit distractions while driving. Members of the public who notice downed power lines, call 911 immediately. Stay away from downed lines and instruct your family to do the same. Our number one priority is for all of our SECO employees to return home safely to their families at the end of every workday.”

 

It is also important to emphasize the importance of the Florida “Move Over” law requiring motorists to slow down and/or move over one lane for emergency responders. It includes tow trucks, municipal vehicles and utility vehicles. Recently, Governor DeSantis signed a bill that takes effect on January 1, 2024, that requires motorists to slow down and/or move over one lane for all disabled vehicles. Drivers who do not slow down and move over could receive a noncriminal moving violation and be hit with a hefty monetary fine.

SECO Energy Donates Bucket Truck to Lake-Sumter State College

SECO Energy is a Central Florida not-for-profit cooperative that is one of the top ten employers in Sumter County, offering competitive wages, generous benefits, a defined-benefit pension and a robust paid-time-off program. As a co-op, SECO Energy is also focused on community involvement and partnerships.

 

“Over a decade ago, SECO Energy recognized a private/public partnership potential with Lake-Sumter State College to train an important part of our workforce. SECO helped finance the inception of the college’s electric utility lineworker program, from which a number of our employees graduated,” said Jim Duncan, CEO.

 

The donation effort was led by SECO’s Manager of Safety & Risk Management Steve Balius. As the Chairman for Lake-Sumter State College’s (LSSC) Engineering Technology Advisory Committee and committee member for the Electrical Distribution Technology program, Balius knew the college’s aging bucket truck wouldn’t continue to prepare students for the world-of-work much longer. When he learned SECO was retiring a bucket truck from its fleet, he went to work connecting the dots. Balius is excited for the donation opportunity and stated, “I am thankful for the generosity of SECO’s Board of Trustees in approving the donation.”

 

Duncan stated, “Today, it is our pleasure to contribute again to the Lake-Sumter State College’s program by donating this bucket truck. It will provide hands-on, real-life experience to students earning their Associates of Science in Electrical Distribution Technology. This program helps SECO too. Line techs who have been with the company for 30 plus years are starting to retire. We want to replace them with local students who want to stay in the area, work for a competitive growing company and raise their families here. For that reason, we felt that breathing new life into our partnership with Lake-Sumter State College with the truck donation was a sound investment.”

 

“We are excited to receive this bucket truck donation from SECO,” said LSSC President Dr. Stan Sidor. “SECO is a strong local partner and this partnership allows us to enhance our EDT program’s ability to train and prepare our students and ultimately support the workforce and our community.”

 

Learn more about SECO Energy and its Concern for Community on our Community page. “Like” SECO’s Facebook page and “follow” @SECOEnergy on Twitter for news releases and cooperative updates.

Hurricane Matthew Forecast to Hit Florida as Cat 4

Per the National Hurricane Center’s 8 am forecast, Hurricane Matthew is moving northwest at 12 mph. On this track, Matthew crosses the Bahamas today and approaches Florida’s east coast tonight, strengthening to a category 4 hurricane – which means winds of 130 to 156 mph.

 

The forecasted path of Matthew remains parallel to Florida’s east coast – but models are mixed as to how close the eye will come to Florida’s shores and where it will head after it passes the state. It is certain that Central Florida residents east of I-75 will experience rain and tropical-storm-force winds.

 

Poles and lines will go down, and power outages will likely be widespread. Because crews are unable to work safely or raise bucket truck booms in winds over 35 mph, outages will be long in duration if crews cannot respond to outages until winds subside and the storm passes.

 

SECO encourages its members to report outages using smartphones or tablets at the Storm Center application on our website. It’s easy to report with the last name and house number. Members can contact SECO via Facebook and Twitter and read outage details.

 

For members less tech savvy, call and talk to a member service rep (or use the prompts to report the outage by phone at 800 732 6141. SECO’s System Operations Center is manned 24/7, and our call centers are also manned 24/7 when severe weather comes through – as will be the case as Hurricane Matthew approaches. Also report downed power lines – call 911 if there is immediate danger.

 

SECO is Storm Ready. Its emergency response plan determines the restoration priority of each feeder. Essential services like shelters, hospitals, schools and government agencies are the highest priority. Next, linemen work to restore power to large groups of members. Then repairs begin on individual services in less populated areas. All day today, additional line crews and tree trimming contractors are arriving at SECO to be staged for the restoration effort.

 

Members who need continuous power for medical devices and do not have a back-up source of power must act now. Shelters are open in the SECO area. Contact your county’s emergency operations center (EOC) to find shelter in your area – do not wait.

 

 

 

As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, SECO is dedicated to being members’ first source for accurate storm information.