Whether you were born and raised in the Tampa Bay area, or recently made the move here, you probably know that one of the worst parts about hurricane season is when the lights go out.

And as we enter what's typically the most active part of hurricane season, we have some good news for Tampa residents. Tampa Electric (TECO) is in the process of moving power lines underground as part of its Storm Protection Plan.

How will this help?

Moving the lines underground ensures that winds, falling palm trees, or blowing debris won't pull down power lines — making outages during storms less likely. However, lines can be preemptively shut down before flooding and saltwater damage can occur during high tides and storm surges, so power can get back up and running more quickly after storms.
In addition to keeping the lights on during a disaster, taking out power lines + poles would give the city more room to plant trees, which would help its journey to plant 30,000 trees by 2030 to restore our beloved tree canopy.

Where is TECO in the process?

Right now, about 50% of the utility's power lines are underground, primarily in areas of new construction, according to TECO. The company aims to move 75 to 100 overhead lines underground every year.

While we have you here, here's a few tips for this hurricane season:

TECO offers resources like an outage map, outage notifications, and information on how to report an outage.
Duke Energy customers can also access an outage map + other resources online.
The year's second Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday is approaching. Bookmark your calendar for Aug. 24 to Sept. 6 to pick up any last-minute items like batteries, flashlights, and supplies still left on your list.
Speaking of lists, now's a great time to double check your hurricane kit + locate items within the house so you aren't scrambling when a storm arrives.
Sign up for Alert Tampa or Alert Pinellas for storm updates and notifications.
Make sure to check out our hurricane guide for tips like emergency phone numbers and this season's predictions.