Duke Energy Florida has announced the completion of its Ulmerton Storm Staging Site in Pinellas County. This facility is designed to support storm response efforts by providing a secure, dedicated area for equipment, trucks, and lineworkers during hurricanes.
Previously, Duke Energy relied on temporary spaces at partner facilities such as local businesses and schools. These locations sometimes became unavailable once they resumed normal operations. The new site ensures that restoration crews have a long-term base for as long as recovery work is needed after a storm.
The Ulmerton site will serve customers in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and surrounding areas by enabling faster deployment of resources once it is safe to do so following a hurricane.
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 serves 2 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida with 12,300 megawatts of energy capacity.
Its parent company Duke Energy operates electric utilities serving 8.4 million customers across six states and owns 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity nationwide. The company is investing in grid upgrades and cleaner generation sources while aiming to maintain reliability for its customers.
More information about Duke Energy can be found at duke-energy.com and through their social media channels.
