FPL working round the clock to restore power to remaining customers impacted by Hurricane Irma; more than 4.1 million customers restored within six days

JUNO BEACH, Fla., Sept. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Power & Light Company continues aggressively working to restore power to the remaining customers who are still without power as a result of Hurricane Irma. The company has restored power to more than 4.1 million customers within six days and remains focused on the remaining 300,000 customers affected.

"Our efforts are centered on getting the lights back on for our customers who have been without power the longest," said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL. "We know patience has worn thin and with the help of thousands of hardworking men and women from 30 states and Canada, we're working day and night to help our customers' lives return to normal." 

Restoration in Brevard, Broward, Clay, Flagler, Indian River, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, Seminole, St. Johns, Union and Volusia counties is 95 percent complete or higher. Columbia, Duval, Hardee, Martin, Orange, Osceola and St. Lucie counties are 100 percent restored. Any customers who do not have power in these counties should report their outage online at FPL.com/outage.

In addition, Miami-Dade County is nearly 95 percent restored, and FPL is on track to have restoration essentially complete on Tuesday.

Restoration for FPL customers in Northeast Florida counties, including Flagler County north through Nassau County, is on track. FPL expects nearly all customers in these counties to have their power restored Monday with some small areas finishing up Tuesday.

In Southwest Florida, restoration in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, DeSoto and Hendry counties is nearly 85 percent complete and still projected to be essentially complete on Wednesday. Lee and Glades counties are nearly 85 percent restored and are projected to be essentially complete by Thursday night. More than 65 percent of customers in Collier County, where Irma made landfall and inflicted the worst damage, are restored, and FPL expects to be essentially complete Friday.

Exceptions could occur in areas throughout Florida that are impacted by unusual circumstances such as tornadoes, severe flooding, heavy tree and debris damage. There may also be instances in which a customer's home or business is unable to safely accept power.

"To our customers without power, I want you to know that we understand how frustrating it can be, and we will not stop until everyone's lights are back on," Silagy added. "I also want to thank the many community partners that continue to assist us in restoration efforts; without your support, the enormous task we face to restore power to nearly 4.4 million customers would be even harder. But as we often see in tough times, Floridians continue to work together to come back stronger than ever."

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.

Significant challenges caused by trees and debris damaging lines
With most major power lines and critical infrastructure now restored, more and more crews are transitioning to tackle smaller groups of outages in thousands of neighborhoods across the state. Crews continue to find widespread damage in the hardest-hit communities, including whole trees pulling down power lines and dense vegetation blocking roadways, preventing crews and equipment from getting in to make the necessary repairs.

FPL has assembled the largest restoration workforce in U.S. history. More than 27,000 personnel have been working throughout the company's 35-county service area to safely restore power as quickly as possible. As areas along the east coast are fully restored, crews will move into the remaining counties, particularly Miami-Dade County and Southwest Florida, to help restore power to FPL's customers in those communities.

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.

Generator safety

• If using a portable generator:
• Follow the manufacturer's recommendations for proper use;
• Plug appliances directly into the generator, not into the main electric panel, because the electricity may flow back into power lines and cause injuries;
• Only a licensed electrician should connect a generator to a main electric panel;
• Never operate a generator inside your home or garage; and
• Keep generators well away from open windows to prevent dangerous fumes from entering your home or a neighbor's home.

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