FPL reconnects more than two-thirds of customers, shares restoration timeline for others

Image via FPL.

More than 2.1 million accounts linked to Florida Power & Light powerlines lost electricity after Hurricane Ian ripped across the Sunshine State midweek. By Saturday, FPL reconnected more than two-thirds of them and had a timeline for when it expects to do the same for the remainder.

Just before noon, the company posted an update.

FPL has turned the lights on for 1.4 million customers affected by Hurricane Ian, which made landfall Wednesday afternoon near Fort Myers at near-Category 5 strength. The maelstrom brough torrential rain, tornadoes and massive storm surges that flooded a large swath of the Southeast Florida.

For most of that region — including Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota counties — damage assessments are ongoing. FPL did not yet have an estimated timeline Saturday for when the area will be “essentially restored” with 95% of accounts back online.

But there’s good news for other parts of the Peninsula. FPL said Brevard and Okeechobee counties will be essentially restored by the end of Sunday. For Flagler, Seminole and Volusia counties, FPL estimates 95% reconnection by the end of Tuesday.

Nearly all customers dependent on FPL power in Baker, Bradford, Broward, Clay, Columbia, Hardee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Palm Beach, Suwanee and Union counties have power again, the company said.

The same can’t be said for municipal electricity customers in the city of Wauchula, a Hardee County hamlet of fewer than 5,000 residents, all of whom were still in the dark Saturday afternoon. And 85% of the 9,505 customers in Hardee who get their electricity through the Peace River Electric Cooperative don’t have power either.

By the end of Saturday, FPL expects it will also reach a 95% connection rate or greater in Alachua, Indian River, Martin, Putnam, St. Lucie and St. Johns counties.

We are actively assessing damage in Charlotte, Collier, De Soto, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Manatee, Sarasota and we will provide an update later this evening. For additional information: https://t.co/02k9I3vXuq pic.twitter.com/xauvdZ7lyE

— Florida Power & Light (@insideFPL) October 1, 2022

“The company’s massive restoration effort continued overnight and into Saturday morning with a total workforce of more than 21,000 men and women — including mutual assistance from 30 states — supported by 26 staging, parking and processing sites,” an FPL news release said.

“FPL has zeroed in on the hardest-hit areas by strategically positioning and rapidly deploying crews and equipment to restore power safely and as quickly as possible. As of 10 a.m., FPL had restored power to 1.4 million customers and remains focused on restoring the approximately 699,000 customers currently without power, prioritizing immediate efforts on critical infrastructure functions that serve community needs, such as hospitals and 911 centers.”