Duke Energy Florida has finished building the Ulmerton Storm Staging Site in Pinellas County. The facility will serve as a secure location for storm response resources, including equipment, trucks, and lineworkers, during hurricane events. In the past, Duke Energy Florida relied on temporary spaces at local businesses and community organizations such as St. Pete College and Tropicana Field. The new site provides a permanent base for crews and resources.
The company states that the Ulmerton site is its first dedicated facility in Pinellas County and will allow faster deployment of resources to restore power after storms. Resources stationed at the site can be dispatched as soon as it is safe following a hurricane, aiming to reduce restoration times for customers in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and nearby areas.
Melissa Seixas, president of Duke Energy Florida, said: “Our customers in St Petersburg and Clearwater can be reassured that we are working as quickly as possible to restore power in the event of a hurricane in our area. Dedicated storm staging sites, like our newest one at Ulmerton, will allow us to host critical resources close by so we can quickly turn lights back on for our customers.”
Todd Fountain, general manager of emergency preparedness at Duke Energy Florida, added: “From the Ulmerton Storm Staging Site, we’ll be able to get right into all areas of Pinellas County. Having our staging site centrally located helps us get to critical areas faster. We learned during past storms the importance of getting resources here prior to the storm making landfall. So, we’ll house teams in a safe place, just outside the path of the storm, and keep about 300 vehicles at the staging site so we’re ready to go as soon as it’s safe.”
Duke Energy Florida operates 12,300 megawatts of energy capacity and serves approximately 2 million customers across 13,000 square miles in Florida.
Duke Energy is among the largest energy holding companies in the United States with electric utilities serving 8.4 million customers across six states and owning nearly 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity nationwide. Its natural gas services reach 1.7 million customers across five states.
The company continues to invest in grid upgrades and cleaner generation sources such as renewables and energy storage while maintaining reliability for its customers.
More information about Duke Energy can be found at duke-energy.com or through their social media channels.
