Watch CBS News

FPL Amassed 18,000 Strong Force To Restore Power After Hurricane Dorian

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Florida Power and Light is preparing for the worst when Hurricane Dorian's winds and rain lash this state in the coming days.

"We're expecting impacts like significant storm surge and potential flooding, especially along the coast. We also expect that we can start seeing impacts from Dorian's feeder bans as early as tomorrow afternoon," said FPL's David Reuter. "If Dorian does strike Florida's east coast, it would become the strongest storm to do so in 30 years."

Reuter said there remains a high likelihood that hurricane-force winds that will impact a large portion of their service territory.

"These winds can cause significant damage that may require crews to repair large parts of our electric grid. Flooding, fallen structures, debris, and other obstacles can also impact the scope and speed of power restoration," he said.

Reuter said due to the nature of this storm and for tree debris to blow into power lines, some customers may experience more than one outage.

To get the power back on after the storm winds pass, Reuter said they have 18,000 employees and workers from 34 states and Canada ready to move in once it is safe for them to do so.

They two main staging sites for the out of state workers will be in Daytona Beach and Lake City.

They also have 20 staging sites across the state where their own employees will be staging.

"We understand the anxiety that many of our customers may be feeling right now. We want to reassure that we are ready to respond," said Reuter.

FPL provides electricity along most of Florida's East Coast.

FPL, which serves 10 million people through roughly 4.9 million customer accounts, had to restore power to 4.4 million customers because of Hurricane Irma, which traveled up the state from the Keys to Jacksonville in September 2017.

Restoration took about 10 days before it was considered completed to all but the most-damaged properties.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.