Florida public power utilities recently detailed how they are proactively taking steps to prepare for this year’s hurricane season, which began in June.
“Despite a less active 2025 hurricane season and forecasts pointing to below-average activity in 2026, Florida’s public power utilities know it only takes one storm,” Amy Zubaly, Florida Municipal Electric Association Executive Director and APPA Mutual Aid Committee Chair Amy Zubaly said.
“Regardless of the season, public power utilities across the state invest year-round in strengthening the grid, hardening infrastructure, deploying advanced technologies, and training through disaster drills and community-wide preparedness activities,” she said.
“These proactive efforts, combined with a robust mutual aid network, help reduce outages before they happen, enable rapid respond when severe weather hits and ensure faster restoration when large-scale outages do occur. No matter the forecast, Florida’s public power utilities are ready for the one,” Zubaly said.
In May, FMEA hosted its 2026 Hurricane & Storm Preparedness Forum. FMEA’s annual Hurricane & Storm Preparedness Forum offers presentations on hurricane preparedness and response, mutual aid, FEMA, and other disaster and emergency response related issues, as well as opportunities for Florida public power utilities to share best practices and lessons learned from each other.
JEA
JEA Incident Management leaders and employees participated in a comprehensive three-day Hurricane Preparedness exercise from June 2-4 in collaboration with the City of Jacksonville Emergency Preparedness Division.
Florida public power utility JEA has held the training exercise annually since 2011 to strengthen its readiness for severe weather and emergency response.
The exercise included JEA leaders who serve as Incident Command System section chiefs, coordinating response and recovery efforts across the utility during severe weather and other emergencies. The training opened with remarks from Jacksonville Emergency Preparedness Division Chief Andre Ayoub and JEA Managing Director and CEO Vickie Cavey.
“We always need to practice our communications, our preparedness and our responsiveness,” Cavey said.
Throughout the three-day exercise, JEA tested its emergency response plans using a simulated Category 2 storm, “Hurricane Zora.” Teams worked through realistic scenarios involving widespread flooding, power outages, infrastructure impacts and communication disruptions.
Exercises like these help JEA evaluate and strengthen its preparedness, response and recovery capabilities while providing valuable insights for utility leaders. The training also reinforces coordination among internal teams and community partners, helping ensure JEA is prepared to respond effectively when severe weather threatens Northeast Florida.
The Florida public power utility works throughout the year to provide for the community’s safety before, during and after severe weather.
JEA noted that it continually invests in utility upgrades, including electric and water infrastructure and vegetation management. In the past year, the utility:
• Pruned 1,383 miles of trees to reduce outages throughout our service territory
• Replaced 3,300 utility poles
• Installed 5,983 transformers
• Replaced or rehabilitated 183 pumps at wastewater lift stations
• Rehabilitated or replaced 250 manholes.
JEA reduces the risk of downed trees and broken branches causing outages by pruning trees in rights-of-way year-round.
JEA also minimizes sanitary sewer overflows with an advanced manhole-level monitoring system installed at over 125 locations in our service area. By remotely monitoring rising levels in the sewer collection system during inclement weather, JEA can proactively respond by dispatching crews ahead of time.
Leesburg Electric Creates Outage Map QR code
Just in time for hurricane season, Florida public power utility Leesburg Electric has created an Outage Map QR code to provide a quick and easy way to track outages in the utility service area.
Scanning the new QR code will take utility customers directly to the city’s interactive outage map. This map can be searched by address and provides real time information on outages within the Leesburg Electric service area.
The QR code is available on the city website at www.leesburgflorida.gov. It will also be included on printed utility bills and the upcoming quarterly utility bill newsletter. Customers are encouraged to keep the QR code in a convenient location to scan should they experience an outage.
Customers should only scan QR codes from known sources, the utility noted. “Do not scan random, unsolicited or tampered-with codes. The Leesburg Electric Outage Map QR code should never take you to a site that asks for personal or account information. QR code scams.”
Lakeland Electric
“Lakeland Electric is committed to keeping our community informed, prepared, and supported before, during, and after severe weather. While we work year-round to strengthen our system, preparation is a shared responsibility, and a little planning now can make a big difference later,” the Florida public power utility said.
On its website, the utility provides a detailed rundown on how customers can prepare before the arrival of a storm.
Lakeland Electric’s new 2026 Hurricane Guide is available to help customers stay prepared this storm season. The guide includes essential safety tips, outage preparedness information, and what to expect before, during, and after a storm.
What Lakeland Electric Is Doing
Lakeland crews and teams begin preparing well in advance of hurricane season by:
• Inspecting and maintaining power lines, poles, and equipment
• Trimming vegetation near power lines to reduce outages
• Staging materials and coordinating with mutual aid partners
• Reviewing emergency response plans and conducting drills
When a storm threatens the Lakeland area, it activates its emergency operations plan to respond as quickly and safely as possible.
OUC
While OUC prepares for storm season year-round, its customers can find useful information on its storm center webpage.
OUC also just started a “we’re ready” series on social media, highlighting each department on how they prepare. Those videos are being posted weekly.
Tallahassee
The City of Tallahassee actively prepares year-round for severe weather and is urging residents to prepare as well.
To stress the importance of whole community preparedness, local leaders gathered recently to spotlight community resources and emphasize personal readiness.
To help guide residents through planning, the City provides its Step-by-Step PREP guide online at Talgov.com/PREP. Additionally, the city hosts free community workshops as part of its Plan for Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) program.
“As hurricane season begins, we encourage everyone to take steps now to be ready for whatever the season may bring. We have faced storms before, and each one reminds us that preparation makes a difference. Review your emergency plan, gather essential supplies and sign up for local emergency alerts,” Mayor John Dailey said. “While the City is ready to provide essential services before, during and after a storm, we all have a role to play. By preparing today, we can help protect our loved ones, support our neighbors and keep our Tallahassee strong and resilient throughout hurricane season.”
City utility customers are being encouraged to check and update, if needed, the contact information associated with their utility account. The City uses this information to send text and email alerts during disasters.
Should severe weather occur, the city's mobile app, DigiTally, can be a useful tool for reporting power outages, downed trees and other storm-related issues, the city noted. The free app can be downloaded from the Apple or Google Play store. A non-mobile version is also available at Talgov.com/DigiTally.
