Drew Wilson
Florida Power & Light Company announced Thursday that it has restored power to all customers affected by Hurricane Dorian.
About 4 million FPL customers were in the path of Hurricane Dorian, and about 160,000 ratepayers lost power. On average, FPL got the lights back on within an hour — and no customers went without for more than a day.
“For customers impacted by Hurricane Dorian, thank you for your patience as we worked around-the-clock to get your lights back on as the storm moved north. I also want to thank our industry partners who helped bolster our restoration workforce to among the largest pre-storm levels in our history, as we prepared to face this catastrophic storm,” FPL president and CEO Eric Silagy said.
“Lastly, I want to thank Governor [Ron] DeSantis, law enforcement, first responders and other state and local officials for helping enable us to restore power safely and as quickly as possible.”
The company also said another 37,000 outages were avoided thanks to “smart grid technology.”
“Our investments over the past decade in smart grid technology, undergrounding power lines and strengthening the energy grid enabled us to restore power faster to customers and avoid thousands of outages,” Silagy said.
“With smart grid technology, some restoration tasks that would previously have required a crew to travel to a site in the field and perform work on overhead equipment can now be resolved with the push of a button.
“We also deployed 58 drones to help crews get eyes on any damage to our electric system. This high-tech solution provides valuable insight into areas of dense vegetation and flooding, and helps us get the right crews and resources in the right places more quickly.”
Hurricane Dorian passed by Florida without making landfall, though communities on the east coast experienced high winds and heavy rains from the storm’s outer bands.
Ahead of the storm, when Florida was bracing for a direct hit, FPL secured about 16,000 workers from other companies.
With crisis averted, FPL said it’s turning its focus to helping the Bahamas, where the then-Category 5 storm stalled for a day. The company will make a contribution to the Red Cross and send supplies to the islands via the United Way.
Still, Silagy said Floridians should be prepared for the next cyclone.
“Dorian is a reminder that we are in the height of hurricane season, and we must remain vigilant,” he said. “Please take time now to ensure you and your family are prepared before the next storm strikes.”
