Utility companies make upgrades to prepare for hurricane season

ORLANDO, Fla. — Three weeks from hurricane season, 9 Investigates continues to push for answers about what power companies have done to fix failures during Hurricane Irma.

Millions of Floridians were in the dark after the storm, and many felt like they were also kept in the dark with a lack of information from power companies about when the lights and air conditioning would be back on.

9 Investigates' Karla Ray has been pushing the state’s Public Service Commission and the two major utility companies that serve Central Florida about what will change ahead of the next major storm.

Florida Power and Light and Duke Energy continue storm-hardening efforts that were mandated after the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons.

As part of that effort, FPL continues to install hardened concrete poles. Because of Hurricane Irma, FPL has launched a targeted pilot program to put more lines underground during the next three years.

"Hurricane Irma was very much a windstorm in that it caused damage, because trees, vegetation and other debris went into our power lines," FPL spokesman Bill Orlove said. "We definitely saw that underground lines did better during Irma than above ground."

Duke Energy has also committed to taking 1,000 miles of power lines underground after Hurricane Irma. But their customers know that outages were only one source of outrage after the storm. The company’s IT system failed, giving customers inaccurate information about when their power would be restored.

"We definitely believe our customers deserve better, and we are committed to doing better during this next hurricane season," Duke Energy spokeswoman Ana Gibbs said.

Duke Energy said it has overhauled and conducted stress tests on its communications system. The company told 9 Investigates that it plans to spend $6 billion in the state during the next four years to continue preparing for future storms.

"We feel very confident that that won't happen again," Gibbs said.

FPL also had issues with its communications system after being overwhelmed by customer inquiries. Orlove said the system has been upgraded.

Undergrounding efforts can take years. Both companies said they're still determining which areas those projects will focus on.

Cox Media Group