After a calm first half to the summer severe weather season, Alabama Power employees remain ready to quickly and safely restore service as peak hurricane season approaches.

While the company has responded mainly to scattered weather events since derecho wind damage in March, employees remain alert and prepared to respond to summer and fall severe weather conditions. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) continues to project above-normal activity and says there is a possibility the peak season could become very active, with four named storms already produced this year.

“While our crews have not had to mobilize a large-scale recovery effort so far this summer, we continue to monitor weather events every day and talk regularly with suppliers and outside support to make sure we can respond at a moment’s notice,” said Danny Glover, Alabama Power vice president of Distribution.

To prepare for this year’s hurricane season, Alabama Power employees in Mobile and across the state reviewed storm plans and logistics to help the company better respond to severe weather.

In 2012, Alabama Power received the Edison Electric Institute’s Emergency Assistance Award for restoring power after derecho windstorms hit the Midwest and Middle Atlantic regions in June and after Hurricane Sandy walloped the East Coast in October. The company also hosted storm recovery experts from nearly 30 utilities this February to discuss best practices for power restoration.

Lessons learned from those efforts, and the company’s extensive recovery efforts following the deadly storms across the state in April 2011, provided on-the-ground restoration experience for employees heading into this year’s season.

Other 2013 preparations include:

• Reviewing the company storm plan and making appropriate adjustments in emergency storm assignments, staging area locations, logistics and communications equipment designed to improve response capabilities.
• Expanding the number of employees available from other departments who can play a variety of supporting roles in storm recovery operations.
• Increasing storm season material inventory, including pre-packaged kits ready for storm restoration. The kits contain material typically needed by crews that are making storm-related repairs. The company works with suppliers to ensure they are ready to quickly provide materials and supplies during storm recovery operations.
• Conducting frequent discussions with utility companies participating in the region’s mutual assistance program. Under the program, investor-owned utilities pledge to provide crews to assist Alabama Power when a major storm strikes, depending on their availability, and Alabama Power pledges to assist others when they need help.

Alabama Power also recently upgraded its Storm Center website to provide weather-related tips and help customers better report outages.

To learn more about how Alabama Power responds to storms, and how you can prepare for the hurricane season, log on to www.alabamapower.com. Click on “About Us” and then “Storm Center.”