FPL powers up for season with mock hurricane
Posted on Thu, May. 08, 2008
By EVAN S. BENN
They've trimmed trees, replaced poles and strengthened electrical systems at hospitals and fire stations.
One of the last things Florida Power & Light workers needed to do to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season was go through a dry run of a storm.
On Thursday they reacted as ''Hurricane Beta,'' a strong Category 3, was simulated to make landfall just north of Miami. The hurricane cut a path of destruction north and went back to the ocean near Port St. Lucie, knocking out power for 2.4 million FPL customers.
''We take this very seriously, because what good is all of our training without practice?'' said Irene White, the company's customer communications director.
In the company's command center in West Miami-Dade, employees worked at computers labeled Customer Service, Power Supply, External Affairs, Human Resources. Executives huddled around a conference table in a closed-off room, examining the latest outage numbers and discussing plans.
The drill had been in play since Monday, when FPL began monitoring the mock storm off the western coast of the Bahamas. Each year, the organizers change the storm's strength and path so employees have different scenarios.
The dry run caps off other preparations FPL has conducted throughout the off season, which the company said will benefit 1.87 million customers in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
The power company is strengthening power lines around grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies and most hospitals. It also is trimming trees and otherwise clearing lines along about 3,000 miles in the two counties. Employees will inspect about 30,000 poles in South Florida this year.
''Everyone from here to the field has an important role to play before, during and after a storm,'' FPL spokesman Mayco Villafaña said. ``If we do have a hurricane, we are prepared.''
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