The 2025 hurricane season is officially ramping up, with Tropical Storm Erin strengthening over the Atlantic Ocean Thursday morning and forecast to become the season’s first major hurricane by Friday, Aug. 14. Most models are currently predicting it will turn northward and not hit the East Coast, though.
Electric utilities have already begun preparing their operations for the hurricane season.
Some utilities are updating infrastructure and installing equipment to help them better monitor conditions and manage power outages. In Texas, CenterPoint Energy, which serves approximately 7 million customers across 12 counties, began installing a network of weather monitoring stations, with 100 installed since April. These stations will collect detailed, real-time data that will enhance situational awareness during severe weather events.
CenterPoint has also begun installing or replacing more than 26,000 utility poles capable of withstanding extreme winds, burying 400 miles of lines, and installing automated reliability devices and intelligent grid switching devices to help reduce the effect of outages and improve restoration times. Many other utilities use these kinds of devices as well. Deployment of self-healing grid technology has helped utilities such as Duke Energy reduce storm-related outages in previous years.
Other tactics focus on employee preparedness. Florida Power & Light held its annual storm drill for its employees in May. The drill was a mock hurricane scenario that allowed employees to “test and refine current processes, enhancing their efficiency in restoring power following hurricanes and severe weather,” according to a May 2025 FPL press release. Employees could make use of all the resources, tools and technology available to them to respond to a simulated storm.
The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and runs through the end of November. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects there will be 13–18 storms, with five becoming major hurricanes. A typical hurricane season has 14 named storms.
About The Author
Colleen Beaty
Managing EditorColleen Beaty is managing editor at ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR Magazine, where she has worked since 2020. She has been writing about topics such as outside line work, wildlife and habitat conservation for two decades. In her role with ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, she primarily works with the editorial team to fine-tune stories for the magazines and curate content for ECmag.com. She can also be found hosting ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR's webinars. She holds a BS in wildlife conservation from the University of Delaware.
Colleen is fueled by tea (especially chai), and can often be found cross-stitching or birding in her spare time (but not both at once).
Reach her on LinkedIn or at [email protected].
