Hurricane Ian recovery: Over 435K Florida customers still without power
Hurricane Ian knocked out power for millions of customers in Florida
More than 435,000 customers remained without power in Florida on Tuesday morning, nearly a week after Hurricane Ian made landfall.
According to tracker PowerOutage.US, there were 434,740 customers without power in the Sunshine State shortly at around 10 a.m. ET.
This comes as utility companies have worked around the clock to get the lights back on, although Florida Power & Light CEO Eric Silagy noted last weekend that some homes and businesses would not be able to receive power even when it is restored.
In a Monday morning briefing, Florida Department of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie thanked the 43,000 linemen that restored power for more than 2 million residents.
HURRICANE IAN HAS INSURANCE CRIME EXPERTS WARNING CAR-BUYERS OVER FLOOD-DAMAGED VEHICLES
"We still have nearly 621,000 that remain without power, and rest assured they are working hard to get those lights back on," he said at the time.
Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) emergency response team workers following Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida, US, on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022. (Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
While Guthrie said that those who could receive power should have restoration done by Sunday – not including areas catastrophically hit – Florida Power & Light forecast that restoration after the hurricane would be "essentially complete" on Friday.
After making "significant progress," the company said it expects to complete restoration to 95% of customers who remain without power
"FPL’s workforce of more than 21,000 men and women – including mutual assistance from 30 states – has completed restoration in several regions of the state, allowing the company to redirect more crews and equipment to the hardest-hit areas of Southwest Florida and Volusia County," it said in a release.
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 03: A spray painted sign reads "Floridian Strong" among debris in the wake of Hurricane Ian on October 3, 2022, in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)
As of Monday, more than 80% of affected customers were restored.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
"Finishing our restoration sooner will allow us to free up resources to help others in the state," Silagy said. "Now that our workforce has energized the majority of main power lines – the arteries of the electrical system – we are fanning out into communities and neighborhoods, and we will not stop until everyone’s power is restored."
In a Monday night update, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he had called on the Lee County Electric Cooperative to utilize additional mutual aid to expedite power restoration efforts in the hard-hit county.
Florida Power and Light CEO Eric Silagy visits workers restoring power in Naples, Fla., on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Robert Bumsted / AP Newsroom)
Since then, the cooperative has worked in close partnership with the Florida Electric Cooperatives Association, and the governor noted that the Florida electric co-op is readying an additional base camp to support more than 1,000 linemen that are mobilizing to help the Lee County Electric Co-Op.
The Lee County Co-Op has moved its timeline to Oct. 8 for all impacted areas, excluding Pine Island and Sanibel.
Duke Energy has also shifted resources to Lee County, as well as other companies, as it finishes in other areas of the state.
A firefighter examines a large tree across a road as the effects from Hurricane Ian are felt, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon / AP Images)
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
All of this comes as Dominion Energy continues to restore power in South Carolina following a peak of approximately 110,000 outages due to damage from Hurricane Ian.