Staff Reports
Duke Energy Florida expects to restore power to all customers — with the exception of those who cannot receive power due to flooding — by Monday night.
“Our crews have restored nearly 1 million customers since the storm left Florida, and we are pushing ahead to have all customers restored Monday night,” Duke Energy Florida President Melissa Seixas said. “Our crews have worked tirelessly the past few days, and we thank our customers for their patience during this stressful time.”
As of 2 p.m. Monday, only 15,000 Duke customers throughout the state were still without power. The company brought in 10,000 electrical workers from around the country to accelerate restoration efforts.
“Duke Energy Florida’s storm preparation and grid modernization paid dividends as we were able to begin restoring power even before the storm exited our territory,” Duke Energy Florida Storm Director Todd Fountain, said. “We still have work to do in some flooded areas, and we’ll be able to restore service there as soon as it is safe to do so.”
Duke is unable to restore power to homes or businesses with ongoing flooding until the electrical system is inspected by a licensed electrician. In locations where damage to the electrical system is identified, owners must first make repairs and obtain verification from a local building inspection authority before power can be restored.
Problems that might prolong outages include a meter box that is pulled away from a customer’s home or mobile home service pole where power is not being received. In such case, the owner must contact an electrician to reattach the meter box. In some instances, an electrical inspection may be required before Duke Energy can reconnect service. The company advises owners to seek advice from a qualified electrician.
Duke Energy continues to monitor its grid and any new outages can still be reported on the company’s website, through Duke Energy’s mobile app, by texting OUT to 57801 to report an outage or by calling 800-228-8485.
The company also has an interactive outage map to review up-to-date information on power outages, including the estimated number of outages and an estimated time for restoration.
Duke Energy also offers updates through email, text, phone calls, and social media.
