Florida Power & Light restores all service after tropical storm
Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) has restored service to all customers affected by Tropical Storm Isaias, which came through the region earlier this week.
The storm caused about 40,000 outages in the service territory. FPL estimates that the company’s smart grid technology helped avoid another 18,000 outages. Company officials said the main cause of outages was vegetation and debris blowing into power lines.
“This was an unprecedented situation as, for the first time in recorded history, Florida faced two declarations of state of emergency for both a pandemic and a hurricane at the same time,” FPL President and CEO Eric Silagy said. “We have been preparing for this moment since the seriousness of COVID-19 became apparent early this year, and we have been implementing additional safeguards into our restoration preparations. I’m pleased that our team executed safe COVID-19 practices and did not suffer any injuries as part of this restoration effort as they worked to get the lights back on for our customers.”
Of the roughly 40,000 outages, the peak number of outages at any given time during the storm was just over 5,000. The average customer was restored in approximately 85 minutes.
“Thank you to our customers for their patience as we worked around-the-clock to restore their service as the storm moved north,” Silagy said. “I would also like to thank our industry partners for helping to bolster our workforce, as well as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, law enforcement, first responders and other state and local officials for their assistance in helping us quickly get the lights back on. We are only beginning to enter the height of hurricane season, and I strongly urge customers to remain vigilant and prepared. It’s not a matter of if – it’s only a matter of when the next storm will affect our area.”
FPL is now working with other utilities to the north to assist crews as Isaias moves up through the Carolinas.
