The leading cause of power outages in Florida is natural disasters, namely hurricanes and tropical storms. The number of power outages in Florida is ranked on the higher end of average with around 51 to 100 outages per year. While that might sound high it’s not so bad compared to some other states, like California which on average experiences over 201 power outages per year.
There are 135 Electric Power Plants in the state of Florida, that makes up 1% of all power plants in the US. With so many Floridians relying on power it’s a big deal when the power goes out.
The average duration of power outages in Florida was 65.6 hours—that’s 3 business days of stalled productivity. Following a hurricane or serious storm, it can take much longer than 3-days to see the power come back on. Some areas went weeks without power after Hurricane Irma.
Just because technology is advancing doesn’t mean power outages are getting any less common. In fact, the opposite appears to be true with outages increasing by 15% year over year. Weather-related power outages have continued to increase since 1992.
What are the Most Common Causes of Power Outages in Florida?
The US Department of Energy and the State of Florida created a State Energy Risk Profile to assess the risks associated with power outages regarding Florida’s energy infrastructure and potential influential factors. That includes natural and man-made hazards that could potentially interfere with the power grid.
The most common natural hazards that impact power in Florida have been identified as:
-Thunderstorms and lightening
-Floods
-Hurricanes
Between the years 1992 and 2009, there were 34 wide-scale electric transmission outages that impacted over 11 million customers. 10,531,256 of these customers were impacted by power outages related to hurricanes and tropical storms.
- 465,500 customers were impacted by power outages caused by faulty equipment or human error.
- 262,884 customers were impacted by severe weather or lighting related power outages.
- 42,122 customers experienced power outages related to Protection System Misoperation.
When Do Most Power Outages Occur?
Between the years 2008 and 2013, trends show the greatest number of power outages occur during the month of August. During this same time frame, the leading causes of electric outages were weather and falling trees.
The NOAA reports that thunderstorms and lighting are the most common natural hazards in Florida. There is on average one reported incident every 2 days during the months of March through October.
“The second-most common natural hazard in Florida is Other, which occurs once every 3.9 days on the average,” reports energy.gov.
Power Plants in Florida
There are 135 Electric Power Plants in Florida including 15 coal-fired, 27 petroleum-fired, 73 natural gas-fired, 3 nuclear, 2 hydro-electric, and 15 ‘other renewable’ power plants.
Florida’s High-Voltage power lines reach across 5,083 miles
Florida’s Low-Voltage power lines extend 2,178 miles
The power grid is not symmetrical, instead it “can criss-cross and be in different directions. It can be very possible you can look across the street and you neighbor has power and you don’t,” explains Rob Gould, Florida Power & Light’s Vice President and CEO.
Be Prepared Before the Next Power Outage Strikes
Reserve your generator before the power goes out and prevent paying sky-high surcharge fees. Simply put down a deposit and then pay the normal rate for generator rentals on top of that during a hurricane or other wide-scale power outage. Not only do generators go quick before a storm or during a power outage, but the price to rent them goes through the roof. You can skip the panic that comes with a power outage or pending hurricane by reserving a generator through Cooling Power ahead of time.
Learn more about our Hurricane and Emergency Preparedness Solutions