Florida Power and Light restores power to additional 31K

SAN CARLOS ISLAND, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 29: In this aerial view, boats sit grounded in a woodland area and along the side of the road after being pushed by rising water from Hurricane Ian near Fort Myers Beach on September 29, 2022 in San Carlos Island, Florida. The hurricane brought high winds, storm surge and rain to the area causing severe damage. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

As of Sunday evening, Florida Power & Light has restored service to nearly 80% of customers affected by Hurricane Ian, the utility company announced.

On Sunday morning, Florida Power & Light, had 490,470 customer without power, but has since restored power to an additional 31,000 customers. That leaves 459,000 FPL customers without electricity.

The utility has restored services to more than 730,000 homes and businesses since Ian made landfall.

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Utility crews have restored electricity to 1.8 million accounts since Hurricane Ian bashed through the state on Wednesday, but more than 800,000 Florida homes and businesses are still without power as of 9 a.m. Sunday.

Residents in Southwest Florida, where Ian brought its most significant damage, make up the bulk of the 841,664 remaining outages, or 7% of the state, but inland and east coast counties along its path are also enduring the aftermath without power.

Lee County, where Ian first made landfall and razed much of Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island and nearby areas, has the greatest number of accounts without power, 309,703, or 66% of the county. Sarasota County is next at 104,190, or 36%, according to updates from the Public Service Commission.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has said that Lee County and other hard-hit areas could face a lengthy time without power because Ian destroyed the area’s infrastructure and it will take a longer time to rebuild, as opposed to simply reconnecting downed lines and poles.

After Lee, Charlotte and Hardee counties have the largest share of their grid still offline. Nearly 60% of homes and businesses, 76,395 in total, remain without power in Charlotte County, while 69% of Hardee County is still in the dark, or 8,436 accounts.

There also remain 72,063 homes and businesses without power in Collier County, home to Naples, or 27% of the county.

Outside of Southwest Florida, Volusia County, where Ian exited the state on the east coast near Daytona Beach, has the most residents without electricity. More than 21% of the county, or 66,076 accounts, are awaiting restoration.

Other counties with widespread outages include Manatee with 51,367 (22%); Seminole with 33,393, (15%); Polk with 27,861 (8%); Orange with 26,007 (4%); Highlands with 22,183 (34%); and Hillsborough with 17,167 (3%).