Duke Energy Florida has completed the construction of its Ulmerton Storm Staging Site, which will serve as a central location for storm response in Pinellas County. The site is intended to host equipment, trucks, and lineworkers during hurricane events, enabling faster deployment of resources after storms.
Previously, Duke Energy Florida relied on temporary spaces at local businesses and community organizations such as St. Pete College, Tropicana Field, Wagon Wheel Flea Market, and various churches. These locations often became unavailable once they resumed regular operations. The new Ulmerton facility marks the company’s first permanent staging site in Pinellas County and provides a secure base for restoration work.
According to Melissa Seixas, president of Duke Energy Florida: “Our customers in St Petersburg and Clearwater can be reassured that we are working as quickly as possible to restore power in the event of a hurricane in our area. Dedicated storm staging sites, like our newest one at Ulmerton, will allow us to host critical resources close by so we can quickly turn lights back on for our customers.”
Todd Fountain, general manager of emergency preparedness at Duke Energy Florida, added: “From the Ulmerton Storm Staging Site, we’ll be able to get right into all areas of Pinellas County. Having our staging site centrally located helps us get to critical areas faster. We learned during past storms the importance of getting resources here prior to the storm making landfall. So, we’ll house teams in a safe place, just outside the path of the storm, and keep about 300 vehicles at the staging site so we’re ready to go as soon as it’s safe.”
The new facility allows Duke Energy Florida to maintain a dedicated presence throughout restoration efforts following hurricanes or other severe weather events affecting customers in St. Petersburg, Clearwater and surrounding communities.
Duke Energy Florida operates 12,300 megawatts of energy capacity and serves approximately 2 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across 13,000 square miles in Florida.
Its parent company Duke Energy is among the largest energy holding companies in the United States with electric utilities serving 8.4 million customers across six states and owning 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Duke Energy is also investing in grid upgrades and cleaner energy sources such as natural gas, nuclear power, renewables and storage.
Further information about Duke Energy is available on its website duke-energy.com.
