FPL mobilizes, starts storm watch

Power company can deploy 15,000

Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest electric utility, said Tuesday it is preparing for Hurricane Irma’s potential landfall in Florida.

“Hurricane Irma is a very powerful, dangerous and unpredictable Category 5 storm that has the very real potential to impact Florida, and we are taking every possible action to ensure we are ready to respond,” said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of Juno Beachbased FPL.

Hurricane Irma's winds strengthened to 180 mph on Tuesday morning as it neared Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands.

FPL said it is maintaining a 24-hour watch on the storm’s path, and has activated its storm plan to mobilize workers and equipment. The utility has 5 million customer accounts serving about 10 million people across half the state.

For information about outages and estimated restoration times, FPL urges customers to download the FPL mobile app or to write down their account numbers for access to their accounts at www.FPL.com. They also can call 800-468-8243 to obtain information through the automated system.

FPL continuously prepares for hurricanes — hardening poles, upgrading monitoring systems, and working with utilities in other states to make sure temporary help is available to restore power.

The utility can typically deploy 15,000 crew members to staging areas where the worst damage occurs.

But despite the best-laid plans, storms and especially major hurricanes can be surprising in their direction and strength. Last year’s Hurricane Matthew was forecast to be a Category 3 hurricane heading toward northern Palm Beach County and Martin County, for example. Instead, it skirted South Florida, knocking out some power, and headed farther north.

Since the spate of major hurricanes that hit the state in 2004 and 2005, FPL has upgraded much of its electric grid, investing $3 billion since 2006.

FPL said it has strengthened nearly 860 main power lines, serving critical operations including police and fire stations, hospitals, 911 centers, grocery stores and gas stations; inspected 1.2 million power poles every eight years and replaced 150,000 annually; installed more than 4.9 million “smart” meters and 83,000 devices to help reduce, predict and monitor power outages; and cleared vegetation from more