PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — We are examining what Florida Power and Light is doing right now to keep residents safe during storm season, starting June 1.
The company held their annual storm drill on Thursday, where they simulate responding to a storm, as they would when an actual storm is on the horizon.
WATCH: FPL president and CEO Armando Pimentel tells WPTV why this week is so important
This week, they’ve put their tools to the test and said they’re making tweaks as needed. They’ve focused on reinforcing poles, put more electric wiring underline, and they said they’ve invested in technology to get power back to residents quicker after a storm.
"Last year during storm season, we had well over half a million outages that were done and repaired by the smart grid system, without us having to roll a truck out," said FPL’s president and CEO Armando Pimentel.
WATCH: Pimentel explains the power of smart grid technology
WPTV journalist Victor Jorges spoke to Pimentel about why the company stresses they don’t only worry about storms this time of year, it’s a year-round effort instead.
“It is important for us to be able to look at our processes, redo our processes, make ourselves more efficient," he said, "and make sure that we understand if there's been changes in communities or changes in technology.”
