Staying with Southeastern Utilities Through the Storms

Already hard-hit areas of the Carolinas braced today for flooding from an unprecedented second major storm this season. Residents of Florida’s Gulf Coast worked to dig themselves out from possibly the worst weather event ever to hit their region. And large swaths of southern Alabama and Georgia remain without electricity, as Hurricane Michael continues to wreak its havoc on the southeastern US.

Two record storms hitting the same region in the same year have at least to date been a thankfully rare occurrence. Unfortunately, evidence is now overwhelming that this is the new normal. And it means utilities’ storm responses are going to be in the spotlight more than ever.

That’s not just for getting the lights back on in battered communities. Companies will also face growing calls for hardening systems against future natural disasters, in an era where prolonged electricity outages are less tolerable than ever.