JUNO BEACH, Fla. – Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) today announced that it is ready to respond safely and as quickly as possible should Hurricane Michael impact its customers and, if possible, will provide assistance to other electric providers in the aftermath of the storm.
The company is prepositioning over 1,350 employees and contractors along the West Coast and the northern parts of the company’s service area, to restore power to customers that may be affected. FPL is also opening staging sites, which position crews and critical equipment and supplies near the hardest hit areas.
“Although we are hopeful that Hurricane Michael will not directly impact our service area, our team stands at the ready to restore power safely and quickly for our customers and help others to do the same for their customers,” said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL. “This includes preparing to move our workers and equipment to the areas where they may be most needed. We appreciate Gov. Rick Scott’s forward-leaning decision to declare a state of emergency days before the storm hits, which helps FPL and other electric providers prepare and restore power more quickly and efficiently.”
Earlier today, the National Hurricane Center forecast that Hurricane Michael will make landfall along Florida’s panhandle on Wednesday. While the storm does not appear to directly impact FPL customers, tropical storm-force winds may extend 195 miles from the center of the storm and tornadoes are always possible. FPL customers along the West Coast and in the northern part of the company’s service area may experience damaging wind and heavy rainfall from quick moving feeder bands.
Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the third-largest electric company 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 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 2017 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Market Strategies International for the fourth 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 2018 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.
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