FMEA Statement Regarding Ongoing Power Restoration Efforts Following Hurricane Milton

STATEMENT BY:
Amy Zubaly, Executive Director, Florida Municipal Electric Association

“Florida public power and mutual aid crews are in the field working 24/7 to restore power. Thousands of personnel have been working tirelessly to survey and assess damage and restore power as quickly and safely as possible.

Within a day of landfall, we have restored more than 300,000 outages statewide. As of 9 a.m. today, there are more than 2.4 million customers across Florida without power, with 97,000 of those in communities served by a municipal electric utility.

With its extensive wind and rain, Hurricane Milton brought significant damages to many areas of the electric grid, including broken transmission poles, broken and downed distribution poles, fallen trees and limbs, flooding and downed power lines. Flooding and debris persist in many impacted areas across the state, which could cause delays in power restoration and extend power outages for certain customers.

The Florida Municipal Electric Association amassed a workforce of nearly 2,500 restoration personnel from 22 states for Hurricane Milton storm response. Additional crews will continue to deploy to the hardest-hit areas with the most damage and will work night and day to restore power to all Florida public power customers.”