August 28, 2023 – LCEC is fully prepared for Tropical Storm Idalia. LCEC employees will be monitoring the storm and the electric system 24/7 throughout the storm. Crews have been staged on Sanibel, Pine Island, Marco Island and in North Fort Myers in preparation for Idalia. LCEC has the following resources ready to jump into action:
- 210 line personnel and 60 tree trimmer personnel in place in preparation for Tropical Storm Idalia.
- 225 line personnel and 10 tree trimmer personnel on the LCEC system by close-of-business today if projections for Tropical Storm Idalia begin to show a direct impact to SWFL and intensification models increase to hurricane strength.
- 750 line personnel and 120 tree trimmer personnel on stand-by for Wednesday or after the storm passes.
- LCEC has been in contact with the Florida Electric Cooperative Association, Duke Energy, and FPL in case they need restoration assistance. Once LCEC customers are restored we will join in mutual aid, and vice versa.
LCEC does anticipate scattered outages as a result of Tropical Storm Idalia, but is cautiously optimistic that any impact will be minimal.