JUNO BEACH, Fla., Sept. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In the early morning hours today, the massive restoration operation across Florida Power & Light Company's 35-county service area in response to Hurricane Irma surpassed 3 million customers restored, with thousands more being restored by the hour. More than 21,500 personnel continue to work to restore the remaining approximately 1.4 million customers without power.
"Our crews are working in communities day and night across our 27,000-square-mile service area. Restoring power after the widespread damage caused by a storm of this size and strength is brutal work, and we want our customers to know that we are touched by the compassion and appreciation they've shown us. We know every hour without power is difficult and frustrating, and our team won't stop until everyone is back on," said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL.
All 112 critical hospitals impacted have been restored, and more than 90 percent of all critical infrastructure facilities, such as police and fire stations and 911 dispatch centers, are back up and running.
"Utilities work together when a disaster happens. Over 60,000 restoration workers from more than 250 utilities in the U.S. and Canada have answered the call to respond to Irma throughout the southeastern part of the country. FPL is receiving support from utilities and other companies from nearly 30 states and Canada. So while you might not see an FPL truck on your street or in your neighborhood during a power outage, you may see our partners from other companies who are part of our restoration team," Silagy said.
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.
How to stay informed
FPL communicates restoration information to customers frequently through the news media and the following resources:
- FPL website: FPL.com
- Twitter: twitter.com/insideFPL
- Facebook: facebook.com/FPLconnect
- FPL blog: FPLblog.com
- FPL Power Tracker: FPL.com/powertracker
- FPL Mobile App: Download from the iOS 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 StudySM, 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
