Gulf Power Company employees are geared up and ready as a wintry mix of ice and snow is predicted to fall in Northwest Florida.

Line crews have increased their staffing into the night Tuesday, as well as on Wednesday morning.

“Our crews recently assisted Oncor with winter restoration in Texas,” said Jeff Rogers, Corporate Communications manager. “It’s tough working in these frigid temperatures, but our crews have been tested and are ready. Should an outage occur, we are ready to respond and restore power as quickly and as safely as possible.”

Freezing rain and sleet can build up on tree limbs, which then break and fall onto power lines. Rogers said the company’s year-round vegetation management system helps maintain high reliability of service to their customers.

If you come across a downed power line, assume that it is live and call 911, as well as Gulf Power, at 1-800-487-6937.

If there is an outage, customers can help Gulf Power restore power by turning off their heating systems until power is restored. Once power is back on, customers should wait a few minutes before turning their heating system on.

“If customers lose power, we ask that they wait 10 – 15 minutes after their power is restored before turning their heat back on,” Rogers said. “That helps us manage the load so we can bring all customers back on as quickly as possible.”

Customer service representatives will be working 24/7 to handle any questions customers might have. Customers can call 1-800-225-5797.

In addition to line service crews on standby, many Gulf Power employees at Plants Crist, Smith and Scholz are going into storm shifts. Gulf Power generating plants have run through checklists to protect critical equipment, and the plants are bolstering their staffing to ensure they can provide uninterrupted service during the potential icy conditions.

Customers can view our online outage map on MyGulfPower.com to report or check on an outage. They also can check their power usage on MyGulfPower.com by logging into their account. Customers can create an account online or call the Customer Care Center and a representative will help. Customer Care Center: 1-800-225-5797.