Florida is no stranger to hurricanes. Thus, it would stand to reason that sunshine state electric grids be built to withstand mother nature’s frequent visits.
This assumption would appear to be wrong.
In the wake of hurricanes like Irma, weaknesses in our local grids always become apparent. This last go-around, the Orlando area – far from the worst-struck Florida city – saw nearly 50,000 customers without power an entire week after Irma’s passing.
Last year, Hurricane Hermine – a category 1 storm – downed power lines and removed electricity for 80,000 homes in the state capital. City of Tallahassee Utilities was not able to restore power for many days. After a week, just 0ver 100 customers remained without power.
One of the things both cities have in common is a public utilities system.
These municipally-owned utility companies are owned by the local government and operate beneath the supervision of the county or city. Homeowners and renters pay the utility companies monthly. Like with any utility company, what they take in is more than what they give out.
