Special-Needs Storm Shelters Must Cope With Power Shortage

By GRETCHEN PARKER The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jul 7, 2007

Millions of dollars worth of backup generators, pledged for installation in Florida's special-needs hurricane shelters by June 1, are still in the planning stages. And most of them won't be installed before the end of hurricane season.

The Legislature, fueled last year by post-Katrina worries, vowed that the equipment would be in place at every special-needs shelter by the start of hurricane season five weeks ago. Lawmakers had aimed to ensure that the state's most fragile residents could wait out storms in air-conditioned spaces with electricity for their medical equipment, even if the power goes out.

But the $53 million allotted for the cause isn't nearly enough for all those generators, state emergency planners say. And the planning required to install the behemoth equipment, which officials compare to mini-power plants, has taken much more time than the 12 months lawmakers allotted.

"Every step that we've taken along the way has been to try to achieve that June 1 deadline, and it just wasn't possible," said Danny Kilcollins, who is managing the program for the state Division of Emergency Management. "It's a large-scale project."

Only 10 of the 70 shelters in line for generators will have them before the end of hurricane season. The goal for installing them is Sept. 30, Kilcollins said.

As for the remainder of the 70 requests, planners still are receiving bids from companies supplying the custom-built generators, and they don't know how many they'll be able to afford. For those that are approved, the goal is to finish them this year.

Locally, There's Some Backup

In Hillsborough, Polk and Pasco counties, every special-needs shelter has some backup power, either from a permanent or portable generator. There are enough kilowatts for the circuits that would power crucial medical equipment - including nebulizers, which administer inhaled medicines, and breathing machines that keep patients from suffocating.

The backup power also is needed to recharge batteries in electric wheelchairs so patients can stay mobile and to keep refrigerators running and medication cold.

The eventual shortfall of state money doesn't leave every special-needs shelter in the lurch. Hundreds of shelters statewide have some temporary or permanent backup power. The 70 generator requests came from shelters that don't have enough backup to power medical equipment along with lights and air conditioning.

That's the case at University of South Florida's Sun Dome, the predominant special-needs shelter in Hillsborough County. Local emergency planners have lined up enough portable generators to fuel medical equipment for about 1,200 patients but are lacking the wattage necessary to air-condition the giant forum.

That worries county emergency planners, who are piecing together grants - including some from other agencies - for a million dollars' worth of new generators to air-condition the dome.

They won't be installed until next year.

"We understand the ramifications if there isn't air conditioning. It's only going to make it harder on everybody," said Hillsborough emergency planner Steven Porter, who has been searching for grant money for the new generators for the past year. The state program gave him $200,000, but that left him with a shortfall of about $800,000.

Air conditioning is a crucial need for fragile patients, whose health quickly can deteriorate if they become overheated in a stifling shelter while waiting for storm winds to pass. Lawmakers recognized that need and outlined specifically, in legislation signed by former Gov. Jeb Bush, that special-needs shelters have enough backup electricity to power air conditioning.

In other cases, as in Polk and Pasco counties, a longer wait for generators means planners won't have as much special-needs shelter space as they had hoped.

Polk County has enough special-needs space - and backup power for air conditioning - for about a thousand people, said Pete McNally, director of emergency management. He estimates that will be enough, but he had hoped to secure two generators for backup shelters.

"We were looking at trying to get the generators in place by June 1, but that obviously has come and gone," he said.

In Pasco County, planners have space for about 750 special-needs residents and will have room for at least 600 more when the state program delivers a gigantic, 2.5-megawatt generator to the new Wiregrass High School. It's the biggest piece of equipment paid for by the new project.

"It's going to be worth the wait," said Peg Thomas, coordinator of Pasco's special-needs shelters.

Pinellas Is Waiting, Too

Pinellas County is waiting for two generators from the state, emergency coordinator David MacNamee said. He wouldn't give details.

Most of the generators planned by the state are in the 1-megawatt range, Kilcollins said. The generator and the fuel tank alone cost about $300,000, a price that doesn't include engineering, permitting and installation.

That process is what's taking more months than lawmakers allowed for, Kilcollins said. The labyrinth of procedures for getting permission to install a permanent generator and engineering its construction is complex, he said. Each one is built to order and is engineered to a specific site. The containers for them, manufactured separately, must be hurricane-proof and added along with the fuel tanks after the generators are made.

Kilcollins looked for ways to speed up the project, he said, including ordering the giant transfer switches separately so they could be delivered more quickly. "We've given it our best college try," he said.

Reporter Gretchen Parker can be reached at gparker@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7562.