LAKELAND, Fla. — As Tropical Storm Nicole approaches, Lakeland Electric is adding more personnel to their crews, to quickly respond to possible power outages.
During Hurricane Ian more than 65,500 Lakeland Electric customers lost power. The electric company is preparing for widespread outages again, from Tropical Storm Nicole, because the ground is already saturated, making it easier for trees to fall.
Lakeland Electric said with the help of 300 additional workers, the company was able to restore power to all its customers within six days following Ian. They said that was the quickest they’ve restored power following a storm.
Lakeland Electric said it has crews coming as far as Tennessee to hit the ground running to respond to possible power outages after Nicole.
“We are ready for this storm even though it looks like a less strong of a storm, we want to be prepared so that we can get our customers' power back on as quickly as possible,” said Cathryn Lacy, Lakeland Electric Utilities Marketing Manager. “We have mutual aid crews that are on their way to help us restore power. We also have full inventory of supplies, so that if a pole breaks, we can replace it right away.”
Lacy said their smart grid system worked really well during hurricane Ian. It notifies Lakeland Electric immediately when one of its customers loses power, so you don’t have to call them.
Lakeland Electric is reminding customers if they lose power and are using a generator, to run it in an open and well-ventilated area. Portable generators should not be connected directly to your home's circuits.
