JUNO BEACH, Fla. – As Tropical Storm Elsa moves closer to the state, Florida Power & Light Company is closely monitoring the storm and preparing to respond, including moving personnel and equipment to the areas most likely to be affected.
The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center indicates that Elsa, including outer bands that extend 125 miles, has the potential to affect a large portion of FPL’s service area, bringing high winds, heavy rain and storm surge that could cause trees, vegetation and flying debris to damage FPL equipment. Customers should prepare now for possible power outages and make safety their top priority.
“While the ultimate track and intensity of Elsa remains uncertain, we are closely monitoring the storm and are ready to respond,” said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL. “This is the first storm of the season to directly affect the southern peninsula. Storms are nature’s way of clearing debris and it’s likely that flying debris and falling trees will cause outages and restoration challenges. Following severe weather, our crews must cut away trees and other vegetation that have fallen or blown into power lines to find and fix damage safely and as quickly as possible.”
FPL is mobilizing and pre-positioning its restoration workforce, so these brave men and women can quickly start working as soon as it is safe to do so. Crews will follow the path of the storm and restore outages as the storm moves along the state. FPL has approximately 6,000 personnel dedicated to the effort and are securing additional restoration personnel from other utilities and electrical contracting companies.
FPL urges customers to review family and business emergency plans, ensure they have supplies they need on hand and keep close watch on the development of the storm.
As a reminder, most counties in the storm’s path will suspend trash and debris pickup before a storm. Please do not trim trees now, as high winds can turn cut branches into dangerous, flying debris. However, if you already have trimmed trees, please help to prevent outages by tying down or securing loose branches or other debris.
How we prepare for storm season
- Prior to storm season, we conduct extensive training to prepare our employees to respond safely and as quickly as possible if a storm threatens our service area.
- We secure agreements for assistance from out-of-state utilities and electrical contracting companies in the event that additional restoration personnel are needed. We also order backup supplies and equipment, and we plan staging sites throughout our service area.
- We work closely with local emergency officials to update lists of facilities that are critical to the community, such as hospitals, police and fire stations, communication facilities, water treatment plants and transportation providers.
- We also prepare and strengthen our infrastructure throughout the year by:
- Clearing tree limbs and branches from power lines.
- Inspecting poles for strength.
- Upgrading poles from wood to concrete or steel.
- Inspecting power lines and equipment with infrared technology to detect issues the naked eye can’t see and making any needed repairs.
Additional resources
Customers can download the FPL app for on-the-go, instant and secure access to their accounts. Customers can report or get the latest information on an outage. The app is available for download in the iOS App Store and Google Play. To quickly download the FPL app, text the word “App” to MyFPL (69375). Customers also can sign up for storm updates by texting the word “Join” to MyFPL (69375).
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 Power Tracker: FPL.com/powertracker
- FPL app: Download from the App Store or Google Play, or text the word “App” to MyFPL (69375)
Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the largest energy company in the U.S. as measured by retail electricity produced and sold. The company serves more than 5.6 million customer accounts supporting more than 11 million residents across Florida with clean, reliable and affordable electricity. FPL operates one of the cleanest power generation fleets in the U.S. and in 2020 won the ReliabilityOne® National Reliability Excellence Award, presented by PA Consulting, for the fifth time in the last six years. The company was recognized in 2020 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Escalent for the seventh consecutive year. 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 2021 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 and a world leader in battery storage. For more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.