Utilities continue working to restore power for more than four million customers reported to be without electricity following the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene, which smashed into the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 4 storm overnight.
“Though our system held up well and our team of thousands continues to work around-the-clock, some of our customers remain without power,” said Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) President and CEO Armando Pimentel. “To them, we have a simple message: We will not stop until your lights are back on.”
As of 11:15 a.m. (EST) Friday, PowerOutage.us reported customers without electricity totaled 1.01 million in Florida; nearly 1.06 million in Georgia; almost 1.3 million in South Carolina; just more than 122,000 in Virginia; roughly 846,000 in North Carolina; 78,000 in Tennessee; 71,000 in Kentucky; and almost 22,000 in Ohio.
In Florida, FPL said that crews have already restored power to more than 65 percent of customers affected by Helene, yet the storm’s devastating winds, heavy rainfall, significant flooding and dangerous storm surge have created restoration challenges in impacted areas.