Foley, Ala. — (OBA) —  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting a below-normal 2026 hurricane season, but that hasn’t stopped Baldwin County agencies and utility companies from preparing. Emergency officials say despite an estimated 70% growth in 20 years, there have been drastic improvements, thanks to investments in making power grids more resilient.

Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. NOAA predicts a 55% chance of the season bringing below normal activity, a 35% chance of the season bringing near-normal activity and a 10% chance of the season bringing above-normal activity.

Baldwin County Emergency Management (EMA) director Tom Tyler said the agency is working to coordinate plans with municipalities and utility companies.

Widespread power outages can impact residents and businesses for up to a week. In the wake of Hurricane Sally in 2020, power outages plagued the area for several days. However, Tyler pointed out responses have improved greatly since Hurricane Ivan in 2004, when power was out for weeks in some areas.

“Alabama Power, Baldwin EMC, Riviera Utilities, North Baldwin Utilities, all of the utilities have used this time to make their grid more resilient,” Tyler said. “You've got a lot more underground utilities now than we had five years ago and a lot more than we had 22 years ago.”

Tyler credited utility companies for their abilities to respond, reroute power in their grids and to repair damages quickly.

Planning ahead

When Tropical Storm Bertha began making its way towards the coast in July, Riviera Utilities was already in planning mode, meeting with crews and putting an extra standby crew in place. Chief administrative officer James Wallace said as storms get bigger, preparations increase.

“We do a lot of preparation ahead of time,” Wallace explained. “Getting our crews ready. We also go through our storm response at least once a year to make sure we're ready.”

Mark Ingram, vice president of corporate services and public relations for Baldwin EMC, said the company constantly looks for ways to improve reliability numbers.

“We do that a number of ways by investing in infrastructure and then also staging our crews at the appropriate locations to respond to the outages in a timely manner,” Ingram explained. “We also have our automatic meters that basically read for us any data and outages that will be helpful in responding to outages and also improving reliability.”

Companies are able to monitor meters 24 hours a day. Riviera Utilities has a staffed operations center, which director Zac Barnes said sometimes allows power to be restored before customers ever realize there is an outage.

“It's an amazing tool,” said Barnes “So, in the past we used to have to rely very heavily on customers calling. You had to be home to know your power went out. Now with the smart meters being out there, that meter tells us that your power's out whether you're at home or whether you're on vacation.”

Along with technology, Riviera Utilities has a vegetation management crew to take a proactive approach in ensuring power lines are not threatened by overgrown trees and weeds. The crew has helped reduce outages by more than 50%.

Underground utilities

Utility companies in Baldwin County have seen substantial growth in the past decade, adding thousands of meters each year. New developments across the county are using underground utilities and power companies have replaced many overhead utilities with underground lines as the opportunity arises.

While underground utilities are better protected during wind events, Ingram said they do have their own set of challenges.

“Sometimes with underground, when you have major storms and you have storm surge and you have all that sand that is pushed up, tracking that, finding the transformers, then having to deal with all the salt, air, the water intrusion can take a little bit longer time to repair that damage as well,” Ingram explained. “So, there's advantages and disadvantages to both. Now the cost is much greater for underground than it is for overhead.”

Many municipalities require underground utilities for new developments. However, there is another risk: digging. The month of August serves as a reminder to call 811 before you dig. Baldwin County utility companies will begin a public service campaign leading up to August 11 to remind residents to exercise precaution when digging to avoid underground lines.

Plan in action

As the county has grown, companies have added more linemen to respond and have continued to make improvements.

“In the event that we enact our disaster plan, everyone knows exactly what they're doing,” Baldwin EMC manager of communications and public relations Kim Frank said.

Frank said creating a positive relationship between the utility and the local EMA ensures customers and county commissioners receive adequate communications during any mass response.

“We're building that relationship and keeping them informed of what's going on because they're also a direct connect with the community when it comes to getting our message out,” said Frank. “We prioritize that relationship. It's critical that we share information.”

Tyler said that effort has not gone unnoticed.

“They’ve just gotten a lot more effective and a lot more efficient at being able to restore power,” Tyler added. “The repairs are getting better. It's just the evolution of having been through this a number of times and they've gotten quite good at it and they continue to improve. We're very, very pleased with how our utility companies continue to become more resilient and more responsive to their customers because they know as much as anybody how disruptive power disruptions can be.”