RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. - Florida Power and Light estimates nine million of ten million people on its system could experience power outages from Hurricane Irma’s projected path.
“I do think people need to be prepared for extended outages," FPL CEO/President Eric Silagy said. "It’s not going to be a one or two-day outage in many cases. It may stretch into weeks.”
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Silagy said Hurricane Irma could cause an unprecedented number of outages for the company, and even the country, at an estimated 4.1 million outages affecting nine million people.
However, Silagy said FPL is more prepared to respond than they ever have been for a storm before.
The company will have 13,500 people in the area to restore power when that time comes. Crews are traveling from across the country to help out.
The system could need not only repairing, but also rebuilding, which can take weeks.
“These kind of winds can snap concrete poles. These kind of winds can bend metal poles, so we’re going to see a lot of damage," Silagy said. "We’re going to see areas where we actually have to go in and rebuild.”
FPL will not shut down power ahead of the storm for the entire grid. The company will shut down individual substations if the flood monitors alert to potential flooding.
