Oncor has deployed 500 employees and contractors to Florida as part of a broader mutual assistance effort to preposition power resources as Hurricane Ian approaches the Sunshine State.

Oncor repair and construction resources, in addition to contract vegetation management and other personnel, will be working directly with local utility partners at Tampa Electric and Florida Power & Light.

Crews will be safely positioned outside of the expected area of landfall so they can monitor impacts and activate to areas of need as soon as weather conditions allow.

Hurricane Ian, which is approaching Category 5 status with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph as of Wednesday morning, is expected to produce catastrophic storm surge, destructive winds and severe flooding. The storm is nearing the southwest coast and is expected to move up toward Orlando after making landfall.

Oncor has long-maintained mutual assistance partnerships with private and public utilities throughout Texas and across the country to support preparation and recovery efforts for severe weather and major outage events.

Over the past few years, Oncor has also deployed personnel and equipment to support restoration efforts after the devastation of Hurricanes Laura and Ida in Louisiana, Hurricanes Sally and Michael in Florida, Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and wildfires in California.

Following the Labor Day storms in the DFW areas earlier this month, mutual assistance crews from Texas and several neighboring states were deployed to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in support of Oncor’s restoration efforts.

*Photo courtesy of the National Hurricane Center