FPL restores service to more than half of customers impacted so far by Hurricane Nicole as storm continues to cause outages in Florida
November 10, 2022

JUNO BEACH, Fla. – Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) has been working around the clock, including safely through the night in between feeder bands, to restore power to customers affected by Hurricane Nicole. The storm – which is the first hurricane since 1985 to impact Florida during the month of November – came ashore just south of Vero Beach in the early morning hours with significant winds and heavy rain.

As of 8 a.m., FPL had restored power to approximately 178,000 customers even as Nicole continues slicing through Florida. The company has dedicated approximately 13,000 men and women to the effort, including mutual assistance from 16 states.

“Nicole continues to impact the state, but our restoration is well underway,” said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL. “During the height of the storm in the southern part of Florida, when crews were unable to travel safely, our smart grid technology was working to restore power remotely. Now, in the areas where winds are below 35 mph, our teams are out in full force, conducting critical damage assessments and restoring power.”

Nicole remains a threat across much of the state given its large size. In addition, Hurricane Ian’s destructive path through Florida just six weeks ago inundated soil and left weakened trees primed to topple onto FPL power lines. Flying debris, flooding and storm surge are likely to create continued restoration challenges.

“We understand how difficult it is to be without power, and we know many of our customers are fatigued by the recent storm activity, but please know that we will not rest until power is restored to every customer,” Silagy said.

Damage assessment teams, including drone teams, have begun fanning out across the portions of the state already impacted by Nicole. Quickly putting eyes on damage enables FPL to send the right crews and the right equipment to the right places to restore power safely and as quickly as possible.  

In advance of the storm, FPL strategically positioned personnel and equipment around the state to begin restoring power as soon as it was safe to do so. FPL also has specialized crews working to clear downed trees, debris and other damage to allow line workers to gain access and restore service.

What FPL is doing   

As it’s safe to do so, FPL will continue restoring power leveraging:   

  • Approximately 13,000 personnel dedicated to supporting the restoration   
  • Staging sites in the most affected areas
  • Pre-positioned equipment and supplies  
  • Coordination with county and state emergency operations centers

As FPL makes progress in the southern part of the state, the company will send crews and equipment north to follow the storm and restore power.

Immediately after a storm, FPL knows if main power lines have been damaged. If customers believe their power is out for this reason, there is no need to contact FPL. Customers should call 911 or FPL at 1-800-4OUTAGE (1-800-468-8243) only to report dangerous situations such as downed power lines or sparking electrical equipment. Customers can report an outage at FPL.com/Outage or on the FPL app.

In the wake of a hurricane, FPL knows customers need as much information as possible in order to make decisions for their families. Every hurricane is different, but FPL’s goal is to provide customers more accurate information faster than ever before. FPL aims to provide its best estimates for when restoration will be completed for 95% of FPL customers affected by the storm in an area approximately 24 hours after the storm has cleared that area. This is the time the company needs to assess damage and determine the right crews and right equipment to respond.

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:   

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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.