Within six days of Hurricane Ian making landfall in Florida, Florida’s public power utilities have restored power to 99.99 percent of all customers capable of accepting electric service. One of the most disastrous hurricanes in Florida’s history, Hurricane Ian impacted two-thirds of Florida’s 33 public power utilities with peak outages reaching 212,344 customers.
As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, October 4, nearly 100 percent of the more than 1.5 million Florida public power customers across the state are receiving electricity. A small number of customers are unable to accept electricity due to excessive damage, damages to their homes, or significant flooding. Utilities will continue to work diligently to restore power to these remaining customers.
“From towns and cities near and far, crews large and small flocked to Florida following Hurricane Ian last week to help Florida public power communities restore power. We can't thank all the responding mutual aid crews enough for working long hours in tough conditions to help Floridians get power back to their homes and businesses,” said Amy Zubaly, Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) Executive Director. “This week during Public Power Week we can truly celebrate one of the many benefits of public power – being able to lean on other public power communities for help in times of need.”
Through its nationwide network of support, FMEA was able to secure more than 750 line resources from 125 utilities in 22 states to provide mutual aid and assist with power restoration efforts in Florida following Hurricane Ian.
Mutual aid agreements enable electric utilities to call on each other for skilled emergency workers and supplies. Public power utilities across the country benefit from the strong network of mutual assistance partners through the American Public Power Association. These dependable connections have created a reliable system where member utilities both request and offer assistance when in need. FMEA is proud to serve as the mutual aid coordinator for Florida’s 33 public power utilities.
