There’s an old saying that Mother Nature is the great equalizer, and as hurricane season approaches, one word continues to be on the collective mind of each of our nearly 9,000 employees at Florida Power & Light Company: preparedness.
We recently completed our annual Storm Dry Run, a weeklong session of intense restoration drills and training, to make sure our teams are prepared for the challenges that come with a hurricane season during a pandemic. Our goal: to be ready to restore power safely and as quickly as possible in the event of a weather-related outage.
The energy business can be a humbling one at times, and continuous improvement, preparedness and safety are deeply embedded in FPL’s DNA. It’s simply what we do.
Since 1925, our team has become hurricane-hardened just as we have hardened our critical infrastructure and energy grid. After nearly a century of real-life experience in one of the world’s most demanding weather environments, we know that uncompromising preparation across all facets of our organization is the key to effectively dealing with hurricanes.
FPL’s annual Storm Dry Run comprises a weeklong session of intense training and situational drills prior to hurricane season. (Image taken pre-COVID-19)
Whether in the Command Center or in the field, FPL employees train with the goal of restoring power safely and as quickly as possible after weather-related outages.
Here are just a few recent findings and points of continuous improvement we have put in place:
Mother Nature may be a great equalizer and we will always be mindful of its power and ability to cause destruction — but our proven history and experience keeping the lights on in the world’s worst weather is second to none. Every storm is different and presents its own unique challenges, but customers can be confident that the best team in the business is prepared to respond for you when times get tough.
Manny Miranda
Senior Vice President of Power Delivery at Florida Power & Light Company.