JUNO BEACH, Fla. – As Tropical Storm Ian strengthens and potentially becomes a major hurricane, Florida Power & Light Company is preparing for a projected landfall in Florida and urging customers to prepare now for the possibility of widespread power outages.
“We recognize the uncertainty in the forecast track and projected strength of Tropical Storm Ian may make many of our customers uneasy and a bit anxious, and we want them to know that we are preparing, and we will be ready to respond,” said FPL Chairman and CEO Eric Silagy. “We have activated our emergency response plan in anticipation of the storm’s impact on our service area.”
FPL is assembling a restoration workforce ready to respond safely and as quickly as possible. In addition to lineworkers, the restoration workforce includes tree-clearing professionals who perform the critical task of removing trees and other vegetation that blow into and fall onto power lines. It also includes drone pilots that enable the company to quickly put eyes on any damage to make sure the right crews and the right equipment are deployed to the right place.
“FPL operates tens of thousands of miles of overhead power lines surrounded by millions of trees. Storms like this are nature’s way of clearing debris, and it is likely that vegetation and other debris will cause outages and restoration challenges,” Silagy said.
The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center, issued at 11 a.m., indicates continued uncertainty in the track and strength of the storm. Regardless, FPL is urging its customers to prepare for potential hurricane-force winds, heavy rain, storm surge, flooding and the threat of tornados in parts of Florida.
“While no energy grid is hurricane-proof, since the historic 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, FPL has made significant investments to build a stronger, smarter, more storm-resilient energy grid to deliver electricity our customers can count on in good weather and bad,” said Silagy. “We also proactively clear tree branches, palm fronds and other vegetation from thousands of miles of power lines every year. These investments have benefited customers during past storms, significantly speeding restoration efforts.”
Storms can change at a moment’s notice and there remains uncertainty in Tropical Storm Ian’s track. FPL urges customers to review their family and business emergency plans, keep a close watch on the development of the storm and follow the advice of local, state and federal elected officials. Preparation and safety tips are available at FPL.com/Storm.
The 2022 hurricane season has already severely impacted U.S. citizens. Hurricane Fiona caused massive outages after striking Puerto Rico this month. FPL’s charitable arm, the NextEra Energy Foundation, is donating $25,000 to relief efforts in Puerto Rico and matching any contributions from FPL employees up to $25,000.
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 Power Tracker (Northwest Florida): FPL.com/mypowertracker
- FPL app: Download from the App Store or Google Play, or text the word “App” to MyFPL (69375)
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Florida Power & Light Company
As America’s largest electric utility, Florida Power & Light Company serves more customers and sells more power than any other utility, providing clean, affordable, reliable electricity to approximately 5.8 million accounts, or more than 12 million people. FPL operates one of the cleanest power generation fleets in the U.S. and in 2021 won the ReliabilityOne® National Reliability Award for the sixth time in the last seven years. The company received the top ranking in the southern U.S. among large electric providers, according to J.D. Power’s 2021 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction StudySM and 2021 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction StudySM. The company was also 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, corporate responsibility, ethics and compliance, and diversity. NextEra Energy is ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in Fortune’s 2022 list of “World’s Most Admired Companies” and recognized on Fortune’s 2021 list of companies that “Change the World.” 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.