TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - We're just one month away from the official start of hurricane season and Wednesday, the Florida Public Service Commission got a jump on preparing for any storms.
Public Service Organizations from across the state convened at Florida Public Service Commissions workshop Wednesday to review historical data that will help better prepare strategic responses for hurricane season in the future.
All electric utility companies attend the two day workshop, along with several other public agencies. Together, they review preparedness plans. Their main goal is identifying ways to restore power quickly, while also minimizing damage to roads.
Florida Power and Lights compared data from 2005's Hurricane Wilma to last year's Hurricane Irma and identified improvements.
"What we found was that the investments we had made in hardening our infrastructure in advance of this last year paid off for our customers and actually shaved days off of restoration," said Mark Bubriski, Florida Power and Light Director of Public Affairs.
Following Hurricane Irma, restoration time was one of the priorities from more than 700 consumer comments posted to the Public Service Commission's website.
Data requests have been issued to explore additional topics such as pre-storm staging and causes of delays, damage assessments and accuracy of restoration forecasts, as well as customer and local government communications.
The commission will accept live public comments during Thursday's workshop sessions.
The Public Service Commission will present recommendations for future actions in June.
