Majority of Milton-impacted customers served by FPL, Duke Energy Florida see the light

Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) and Duke Energy Florida are nearing completion of their restoration efforts in the state after the one-two punch of Hurricane Milton, which followed Hurricane Helene.

FPL said Tuesday it has essentially completed restoration to customers affected by Hurricane Milton, and while that means that most FPL customers have their lights back on, the company said there are some customers in the pockets most decimated by Milton’s storm surge, flooding, and tornadoes who cannot safely receive power.

This includes Manatee and Sarasota counties’ barrier islands and areas along Florida’s east coast, which saw historic tornadic activity. FPL says it will continue working and partnering with leaders in those hardest-hit areas to bring back power as quickly as possible.

“I’m proud that our crews have restored power to more than two million customers in just five days. And while that means 99 percent of affected customers have been restored, we also know that there are still customers without power in some of the hardest-hit areas,” said FPL President and CEO Armando Pimentel. “For those customers, please know that we will not stop until we get the lights back on for everyone.”

Some customers’ homes and businesses may have sustained damage that makes them unable to safely accept power, FPL said, and those customers must contact a licensed electrician to make repairs before FPL can safely restore their power.

Duke Energy Florida also has completed about 99 percent of power restoration in Pasco County, Fla., as well as in all other counties impacted by Hurricane Milton.

In total, storm-related power outages across the company’s service territory decreased as of yesterday afternoon from over one million to approximately 30,000 that are largely concentrated in Pinellas County, Fla.

The company said that while these remaining outages are often associated with damage to equipment that serves less than 25 customers, thousands of crews will continue working to restore their power as quickly as possible.

“This has been a multiday restoration. All of us at Duke Energy understand the frustration of customers who remain without power,” said Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida storm director. “As we near completion, know we will not stop until all of our customers who can receive power are restored.”

Customers who will not receive power by the estimated time of restoration will receive an individualized message through Duke Energy’s outage alerts via text or phone, the company said, adding that it’s important to note that customers who experienced extensive damage or flooding may require additional time for restoration and some should be prepared for extended outages.

Duke customers who cannot receive power as a result of damage to the property’s meter base, breaker panel, or customer-owned electrical wiring are urged to contact their local municipalities for guidance, the company said.

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