J.T. Young, FPL’s vice president and general manager for Northwest Florida, said the company aimed to restore power to about 70% of its Santa Rosa County customers by the end of the day Monday, aiming for critical infrastructure and schools.
Young said about 435,000 FPL customers lost power, and the company had restored service to 78% by midday Monday. The company flew about 480 drones, and after that assessment, it had to move the restoration goal.
“We realized that we really could not meet that target for this evening, and so that’s why we’ve pushed that out a day,” Young said at a briefing at the Emergency Operations Center in Milton Oct. 12.
In a phone interview with the Santa Rosa Press Gazette, FPL spokeswoman Sarah Gatewood said tree and vegetation damage made the work harder than expected.
“After getting out and seeing some of the significant tree and vegetation damage, a lot of the cleanup work to just get to that infrastructure to replace is more significant and complex than I think we originally anticipated,” she said.
Young said the storm’s western side hit Santa Rosa harder than counties to the east, and FPL is shifting crews west as restoration efforts wrap up.
FPL currently has more than 17,000 restoration workers from nearly 30 states in the region, according to Gatewood.
Both officials said some homes may not get power back even after FPL repairs because of damage to equipment the customer owns.
Gatewood said FPL owns the meter and will fix or replace it if damaged. The meter can or enclosure belongs to the homeowner, and so does the weatherhead, the pipe on the roof where the service line connects.
Damage to either must be repaired by a licensed electrician before power can be safely restored.
Young said customers who need that work can qualify for up to $2,000 through FPL’s Care to Share program by applying at fpl.com/caretoshare.
Santa Rosa County officials said electrical permits for the repairs can be submitted through the county’s MGO online portal.
FPL also announced that it has four relief sites at Publix stores in Santa Rosa County offering ice, water, food and other information.
Young also noted that there are issues with FPL’s outage app, which can show power is restored even when it isn’t. He said the company is working to fix it.
Young asked residents to report downed lines by calling 911 or 1-800-468-8243.