FPL has restored 97 percent of customers impacted by Hurricane Irma; laser-focused on restoring power to remaining 130,000 customers

JUNO BEACH, Fla., Sept. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As of this evening, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) has restored service to more than 4.3 million customers, or more than 97 percent of the 4.4 million customers impacted by Hurricane Irma. Roughly 130,000 customers remain without power.

"Our expanded workforce of thousands of employees, contractors and partners from across the country and Canada continue to work around the clock to restore service to every customer who remains without power tonight," said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL. "While our restoration crews continue to make progress, we are keenly aware that customer patience for those without their lights and air conditioning tonight is beyond worn thin. We sincerely appreciate the support and understanding our crews are receiving from so many, including those who have been without power since Irma struck. We remain firm in our commitment that we will not let up until everyone's lights are back on."

Bradford, Union, Clay, Duval, St. Johns, Flagler, Volusia, Seminole, Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Columbia, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Okeechobee and Hardee counties are all essentially restored – meaning more than 99 percent of customers who were affected by Irma are restored. Customers who do not have power in these counties should report their outages online at FPL.com/outage. The remaining outages in these areas may require specialized work to repair significant damage from Irma's fierce winds, tornadoes and strong storm surge. In addition, some of the outages may be the result of normal, day-to-day activity and not related to Irma.

Miami-Dade County is 97 percent restored, Broward County is 99 percent restored and restoration efforts in Northeast Florida from Putnam County north through Nassau County are on track or ahead of schedule. In Southwest Florida, power restoration is 85 percent complete or higher in Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, DeSoto, Lee and Glades counties. Hendry County is 75 percent restored and more than 78 percent of customers are restored in Collier County, where Irma made landfall and inflicted the worst damage.

Restoration continues on track for all counties. Estimated times of restoration by county can be viewed at FPL.com/powertracker. Exceptions could occur in areas throughout Florida that were impacted by tornadoes, severe flooding, and heavy tree and debris damage. There may also be instances in which a customer's home or business is structurally damaged and unable to safely accept power.

Customers may experience limited outages over the coming weeks and months due to weakened trees and branches that could impact power lines and electric equipment. FPL crews will continue to make needed repairs as they are identified.

FPL has established walk-up sites for our customers in several communities. These sites provide charging stations, water, Wi-Fi, ice, community service and restoration information, and customer service assistance. Please visit FPL.com/powertracker to see locations and times.

Converging crews into the hardest-hit areas 
With major power lines and critical infrastructure now restored, crews are converging into the hardest-hit areas and working 24/7 to restore smaller groups of outages in thousands of neighborhoods across the state. As areas along the East Coast are completed, more and more crews are supplementing existing crews in areas with remaining outages, including Miami-Dade County and Southwest Florida.

Restoration personnel continue to find widespread damage in the hardest-hit communities, including whole trees pulling down power lines and isolated flooding preventing crews and equipment from getting in to make the necessary repairs. In many cases, crews are spending hours clearing trees and debris before it is safe to reach power lines and begin work.

FPL will continue to communicate restoration information through the media and online via FPL.com, Facebook and Twitter. Customers should call FPL at 1-800-4OUTAGE (1-800-468-8243) only to report conditions such as downed power lines or sparking electrical equipment. Call 911 for life-threatening emergencies.

Be certain your home or business is ready to receive power 
If the power is on next door but yours is not, make certain that your home or business is ready to receive it by checking the connection to FPL.

• Look at the meter, the box that holds it, and connected pipes and wires on the wall of the building.
• If the meter box, pipes or wires are bent or broken, repairs may be needed before FPL can restore power. If it looks damaged, contact a licensed electrician. Do not touch damaged equipment.
• If the meter itself is damaged, restoration workers will replace it.

Please stay safe and help us keep crews safe  
We urge you to continue taking the following safety precautions:

• Please heed Florida's Move Over Law that requires drivers to move over and slow down whenever there is a utility worker, law enforcement officer or a first responder on the side of the road.
• Stay far away from downed power lines, flooding and debris; lines could be energized and dangerous.
• Use extreme caution while driving. Power interruptions may cause traffic signals to stop working without warning. If you come to an intersection with a non-working traffic signal, Florida law requires that you treat it as a four-way stop.

How to stay informed 
FPL communicates restoration information to customers frequently through the news media and the following resources:

• Power Tracker: FPL.com/powertracker
• FPL website: FPL.com
• Twitter: twitter.com/insideFPL
• Facebook: facebook.com/FPLconnect
• FPL blog: FPLblog.com
• FPL Mobile App: Download from the App Store or Google Play

Visit FPL.com/storm for the latest restoration information.

Florida Power & Light Company 
Florida Power & Light Company is the third-largest electric utility in the United States, serving nearly 5 million customer accounts or an estimated 10 million people across nearly half of the state of Florida. FPL's typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill is approximately 25 percent lower than the latest national average and, in 2016, was the lowest in Florida among reporting utilities for the seventh year in a row. FPL's service reliability is better than 99.98 percent, and its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet is one of the cleanest among all utilities nationwide. The company received the top ranking in the southern U.S. among large electric providers, according to the J.D. Power 2016 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study^SM, and was recognized in 2017 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Market Strategies International. A leading Florida employer with approximately 8,900 employees, FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability, ethics and diversity, and has been ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in Fortune's 2017 list of "World's Most Admired Companies." NextEra Energy is also the parent company of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. For more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.

SOURCE Florida Power & Light Company

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