JUNO BEACH, Fla., Sept. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As of 12:00 p.m., Florida Power & Light Company has restored more than 150,000 outages as Hurricane Dorian's outer bands continue to affect Florida's northeast coast. Most of the outages have been the result of trees falling on equipment and other vegetation blowing into the power lines. The company is working with local organizations to support the Bahamas after the unimaginable, catastrophic damage following Hurricane Dorian.
"Our hearts go out to our neighbors in the Bahamas who are experiencing the devastation of Hurricane Dorian," said Eric Silagy, FPL president and CEO. "Our company will be making a contribution to the Red Cross, and so will our employees. We're also working with the United Way and Red Cross to gather supplies to assist those in need, and we stand at the ready to support when they are ready to rebuild."
"Dangerous Hurricane Dorian is still churning off Florida's northeast coast, and with tropical storm-force winds extending 175 miles out from the center, many customers in the northeast portion of the state continue to be impacted by this powerful storm," said Silagy. "Even when it's not safe for our team to be working in the most severe weather, our investments in smart grid technology and to underground and strengthen the energy grid are enabling us to restore power faster and avoid thousands of outages. As suspected, downed trees and vegetation blown into our power lines have been a major cause of power outages for customers impacted by this storm. We're working to find and fix this damage, so that we can quickly get the lights back on for these customers.
"Our team is actively responding to outages from Dorian, and we won't stop until every customer's power is restored," Silagy added. "We're working in lock step with our mutual assistance partners as well. Once our customers are taken care of, we will reallocate resources to where they are needed the most, to help those in Dorian's path prepare to respond as the storm travels up the coast. Safety remains our top priority, and I encourage all customers to remain vigilant and keep safety top of mind."
Customers in low-lying areas and areas impacted by flooding and storm surge should stay off roads and stay indoors. Power interruptions may cause traffic signals to stop working without warning. Under Florida law, an intersection with a non-working signal must be treated as a four-way stop. Customers should also heed Florida's Move Over Law, which requires drivers to move over and slow down whenever there is a utility worker, law enforcement officer or first responder on the side of the road.
As restoration continues, there are a few ways customers can help:
- Avoid stopping crews to ask when power will be restored. Directing questions to FPL restoration workers slows down their work and, more importantly, can compromise their safety. Typically, restoration workers don't know restoration times. They've been assigned to a single segment of an affected line. FPL will provide estimated times of restoration through the media, the FPL app, Facebook, Twitter and FPL.com.
- When you're out driving, clear the way for FPL trucks so that crews can get to their next work site faster. The restoration workers truly appreciate this courtesy, as they work long hours to get the power back on for all affected customers.
- When gathering post-storm debris, keep utility poles and transformers clear so that restoration workers have access to them.
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Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the largest energy company in the United States as measured by retail electricity produced and sold, serving more than 5 million customer accounts or an estimated 10 million+ people across the state of Florida. FPL's typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill is approximately 30 percent lower than the latest national average and among the lowest in the U.S. 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 electric companies nationwide. The company was recognized in 2018 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Market Strategies International for the fifth consecutive year. A leading Florida employer with approximately 8,700 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 2019 list of "World's Most Admired Companies." NextEra Energy is also the parent company of Gulf Power Company, which serves more than 460,000 customers in eight counties throughout Northwest Florida, and 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.GulfPower.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.
SOURCE Florida Power & Light Company
