CP&L
claims it is the most prepared it has ever been.
With five hurricanes in the past five years, CP&L is investing nearly $80 million to prepare for the next big storm.
"That's going into preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, cable replacement and tree trimming," says Juan Armas, CP&L storm coordinator.
A new Progress Energy-developed software called SWARM is also part of the prep list. The computer program analyzes the track and power of big storms along with population and length of overhead lines.
SWARM then recommends the number of line and tree crews that will be needed in specific locations.
"Unfortunately, we've had a lot of practice, so we're very good at it. Be patient with us and believe that we will have power restored as quickly as possible and, very key, as safely as possible," Armas says.
The high winds of Hurricane Fran blew out power for nearly 800,000 CP&L customers. The flooding rain from Hurricane Floyd drowned out electricity for more than a half-million homes and businesses.
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