FPL responding to outages caused by Tropical Storm Isaias as it continues to affect Florida
- A significant number of customers remain in the path of the storm in the Palm Beaches, Treasure Coast, Central and North Florida
- Workforce of more than 9,000 already restoring power to customers
- FPL urges customers to be safe; avoid downed power lines and standing water
- COVID-19 will create challenges that may ultimately delay restoration
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August 2, 2020

JUNO BEACH, Fla. – Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) today announced that as of noon, it has restored power to more than 25,000 customers affected by Tropical Storm Isaias and fewer than 2,200 customers are without electricity as the storm continues to affect the state. The company expects the potential for more outages as Isaias remains a threat to customers in the Treasure Coast and Central and North Florida.

“While Tropical Storm Isaias has remained off the coast, customers throughout our service area are still feeling the effects of the strong tropical storm force winds and customers across parts of our service area remain in the storm’s path,” said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL. “Our crews worked throughout the night to restore outages and continue to work in between bands of severe weather, assessing damage and restoring power. Investments made in the grid continue to pay off for customers with faster restoration times while our smart grid technology has helped us to avoid thousands of outages.”

We have already restored a small number of customers affected in Miami-Dade and Broward counties and in the Naples area, and have returned to normal operations in those areas. As Isaias continues to move north along the coast, damage may be caused by high winds and possible tornadoes, resulting in excess vegetation and debris that are anticipated to cause restoration challenges. Following severe weather, our crews must cut away trees and other vegetation that have fallen into power lines, or that are in the way, to find and fix damage safely and as quickly as possible. Customers should remain vigilant and stay away from downed lines and standing water. 

“Customers that remain in the path of Isaias should continue to head warnings of local and state officials and finalize preparations,” added Silagy. “We have taken extraordinary safety measures to protect customers and our workforce from COVID-19. It is important to remember that these measures may ultimately reduce our productivity as we work to restore power. Despite COVID-19, our commitment to our customers remains unchanged: We will not stop working until every affected customer has their lights back on.”

Every storm is different, but our goal is to get you accurate information as soon as it is available. As Isaias makes its way north along Florida's coast and exits each region, our restoration will follow the path of the storm. As winds subside in southern areas, we will be collapsing crews to support potential power outages in northern regions. We will be out in force assessing damage and restoring service. We must get a solid assessment of the full extent of the damage before we can provide regional estimates of when power will be restored. We pledge to communicate increasingly specific information as soon as we are able.

In response to the global coronavirus pandemic, our plan includes many precautionary measures for the safety of our customers and our restoration workforce. This includes daily health screenings for restoration personnel and adjusting the layout of staging sites where large numbers of restoration workers gather to allow for as much social distancing as possible and adding more micro-staging sites.

FPL urges customers to heed warnings and evacuation orders by local, state and federal elected officials. Preparation and safety tips are available at FPL.com/Storm. 

What we’re doing to respond to the storm

  • We have mobilized a workforce of more than 9,000 from multiple states, including Florida, dedicated to the restoration effort.
  • We have restored power to more than 25,000 customers since Isaias first began to affect our service area.
  • As of 8 a.m. today, our smart grid technology has helped us avoid thousands of outages.
  • We have brought in more than 100 personnel from our sister company Gulf Power. 
  • We have secured thousands of additional external personnel.
  • We currently have 15 staging sites throughout our service area to speed restoration.
  • We are coordinating our response with county and state emergency operations centers. 

What you can do

  • Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, if customers see our crews at work, please remember to maintain proper social distancing.
  • When driving please clear the way for FPL trucks so that crews can get to their next work site faster.
  • Avoid stopping crews to ask when power will be restored

Additional resources

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
Florida Power & Light Company is the largest energy company in the United States as measured by retail electricity produced and sold, serving more than 5.1 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% lower than the latest national average and among the lowest in the U.S. FPL’s service reliability is better than 99.98%, and its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet is one of the cleanest among all electric companies nationwide. The company was recognized in 2020 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Escalent for the seventh consecutive year. A leading Florida employer with approximately 8,900 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 2020 list of “World’s Most Admired Companies.” NextEra Energy is also the parent company of Gulf Power Company, which serves approximately 470,000 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.

For further information: Media Line: 561-694-4442 @FPL_Newsroom

 

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