JUNO BEACH - Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) today announced that as of 3 p.m., it has restored power to more than 90% of customers or nearly 300,000 customers affected by Tropical Storm Eta.

'Our restoration workforce of 12,000 worked all night in between bands of severe weather to restore service and won't stop working until every last customer is restored,' said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL. 'We experienced the worst effects of the storm last night and early this morning. Eta has cleared the region and our crews are now working neighborhood to neighborhood to get the lights back on for our customers. We're also seeing some areas that are severely flooded and it will take longer to restore those outages.'

Tropical storm-force winds currently extend 310 miles from the center of the storm and will continue to affect the southern end of the peninsula for several days. In areas impacted by flooding, crews must wait for the flood waters to recede before they are able to access equipment and restore power. Falling trees and flying debris are the primary cause of outages.

'Initial reports show that our smart grid technology has helped us avoid nearly 50,000 outages and helped crews restore power faster,' said Silagy. 'This is the result of the improvements we've made to build a stronger and smarter grid to make it even better for our customers and provide them with reliable service they can count on in good weather and bad.'

This has been a historic hurricane season as mutual assistance crews have worked multiple natural disasters throughout the country. Tyler Barry, a lineworker with FPL sister company Gulf Power since 2014, is among those providing mutual assistance for Eta and is part of our restoration team of 12,000. He also traveled to Louisiana to assist after Hurricane Laura in August.

'The Gulf Power territory has been affected by multiple storms this season,' said Barry. 'When we were hit with Hurricane Sally, it was a huge relief to have our colleagues from FPL come help support the restoration. It would have been just about impossible if we didn't have other utilities come to help. So, we are happy to repay the favor and come help support our sister company and its customers.'

Customers should continue to heed warnings of local and state officials. Please keep safety top of mind. Don't venture out in the dark, because you might not see a downed power line that could be energized and dangerous. Also, avoid standing water and debris.

Keeping you informed

In the wake of severe weather, we know you need as much information as possible so you can make decisions for you and your family. Every storm is different, but our goal is to get you accurate information as soon as it is available. Our restoration is following the path of the storm, and we will continue to be out in force assessing and restoring service as long as conditions are safe. We pledge to communicate increasingly specific information as soon as we are able.

We will share the best, most up-to-date information we have as quickly as possible through traditional media, social media, FPL.com and the FPL Mobile App.

Florida Power & Light Company

Florida Power & Light Company is the largest energy company in the United States as measured by retail electricity produced and sold, serving more than 5.1 million customer accounts or an estimated 10 million+ people across the state of Florida. FPL's typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill is approximately 30% lower than the latest national average and among the lowest in the U.S. FPL's service reliability is better than 99.98%, and its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet is one of the cleanest among all electric companies nationwide. The company was recognized in 2020 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Escalent for the seventh consecutive year. A leading Florida employer with approximately 8,900 employees, FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability, ethics and diversity, and has been ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in Fortune's 2020 list of 'World's Most Admired Companies.' NextEra Energy is also the parent company of Gulf Power Company, which serves approximately 470,000 customers in eight counties throughout northwest Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun and a world leader in battery storage.

Contact:

Tel: 561-694-4442

Email: Media.Relations@FPL.com

(C) 2020 Electronic News Publishing, source ENP Newswire