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Hurricane Milton: Tampa Electric CEO discusses grid restoration scale

Hurricane Milton is moving through the Gulf Coast and is expected to make landfall in Florida as early as Wednesday night. Residents in the path of the hurricane — which has been upgraded to a Category 5 storm — are preparing for the worst while others follow evacuation protocols. Shares of generator manufacturer Generac (GNRC) have jumped as Floridians choosing to stay in-state gather supplies and brace for potential damages. Transformer prices remain elevated post-pandemic, limiting the reach of power grids such as Florida's as extreme weather events pose a significant threat to infrastructure and resident's access to electricity. "We train year-round for hurricanes like this. In fact, this is the third hurricane we're dealing with this year: we dealt with Debby earlier a couple of months ago; Helene, obviously just two weeks ago; and now Milton, which clearly seems to really be packing a punch," Tampa Electric CEO and President Archie Collins tells the Morning Brief, who notes that more than half of the utility company's grid distribution is underground. Preemptively planning Tampa Electric's grid restoration post-Milton, Collins has "marshaled 5,800 utility workers from all across the United States" who will be ready to give support after the storm passes as part of the "largest set of utility workers we have ever assembled for a restoration." With Tampa Bay in the direct line of Hurricane Milton's eye, Collins notes Tampa Electric is doing its best to anticipate storm surge forecasts and the severity of storm winds. "The supply chain issues surrounding transformers is certainly not a unique it's not a unique phenomenon for Florida. It's a it's a it's an industry wide issue here in Florida because we are prone to hurricanes," Collins addresses transformer concerns. "We keep a very strong inventory of transformers for this very reason, so that if we get hit with a major hurricane, we have what we need in order to effect a timely restoration." To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief here. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.