Duke Energy Florida has finished constructing its Ulmerton Storm Staging Site, a new facility designed to support storm response operations in Pinellas County. The site will serve as a secure base for equipment, vehicles, and lineworkers during hurricane events.
Previously, Duke Energy Florida relied on temporary spaces at local businesses and organizations for storm response efforts. These locations often became unavailable once their regular activities resumed. The new Ulmerton facility provides a dedicated location that can be used for as long as restoration work is necessary after a storm.
Resources positioned at the Ulmerton site will be ready to deploy quickly after a hurricane passes, which is expected to help restore power faster for customers in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and surrounding 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 supplies electricity to two million customers across 13,000 square miles in Florida.
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is among the largest energy holding companies in the United States. Its electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers across six states and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. The company is currently investing in grid upgrades and cleaner generation sources such as natural gas, nuclear power, renewables and energy storage.
More information about Duke Energy can be found on its website (https://www.duke-energy.com/) or through its social media channels including X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/duke-energy), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/duke_energy/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DukeEnergy), and its news platform illumination (https://illumination.duke-energy.com/).
