Florida Power & Light Co. today officially launched the FPL Power Tracker, a new interactive online map that shows in near real-time the location of any power outages across the company's 35-county service territory.

Customers can enter an address, city or ZIP code at http://www.fplmaps.com/ to find out if there are any power outages currently affecting an area. If a customer is currently experiencing an outage, he or she can access the FPL Power Tracker map via a battery-powered laptop with Internet connection, most smart phones and Internet devices, or by asking a friend or family member to go online from another location.

The map mirrors the information provided to customers who call FPL's customer care center and is based on data updated every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day. Clicking on an outage icon reveals detailed information, including:

• The time that an outage began or was reported
• The number of FPL customers affected by a particular outage
• The cause of an outage
• The latest status report on the progress of the restoration
• The estimated time that power will be restored

In any outage, FPL strives to provide customers with an accurate estimate of when power will be restored. This estimate is based on a number of factors, including the outage's cause, the current availability of restoration crews and equipment, and the complexity of the repair. Throughout the restoration process, FPL may revise a restoration estimate if conditions change or new information arises.

"At FPL, we're proud to deliver more than 99.98 percent service reliability for our customers, but we know that any power interruption is an inconvenience. Now, when an outage occurs, the FPL Power Tracker can help save our customers time and frustration by providing access to timely and accurate information – allowing them to monitor the status of a restoration as it progresses, without having to make a single phone call," said Tim Fitzpatrick, FPL's vice president of marketing and corporate communication.

FPL's overall service reliability ranks among the best in the nation. Over the past four years, the company has reduced the average number of outages its customers experience by more than 30 percent.

Power outages occur for myriad reasons. In Florida, the lightning capital of the nation, weather contributes to outages every day. Coastal wind gusts can blow debris into overhead power lines. Heavy downpours can flood underground power lines. Lightning can strike essential electrical equipment.

Beyond the weather, animals such as iguanas and squirrels can infiltrate substations, inadvertently triggering outages. And one of the most frequent causes of power outages and flickers is vegetation – tree branches, palm fronds and other plants – coming into contact with electrical equipment.