FPL says Hurricane Ian may cause 'widespread outages' even outside of cone
Florida Power & Light, the state's largest electric utility, is expecting Hurricane Ian to impact the power grid in to much of its service footprint in Florida.
While the storm's impact will be more harshly felt on the Gulf Coast, the sheer size of the storm in addition to its feeder bands could affect access to electricity in South Florida and most of FPL's 5.6 million customers, even those outside the cone of uncertainty, for several days as the storm moves slowly.
"We're actively preparing for widespread outages throughout most of our service area," said FPL spokesperson Christopher McGrath. "We're urging customers that they're taking the time now to finalize their preparations."
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FPL's service territory includes most of Florida's East Coast, parts of the West Coast and the Panhandle, which used to be serviced by Gulf Power.
FPL to send crews to Gulf of Mexico communities
The utility is preparing to send 13,000 crew members mostly to communities near the Gulf of Mexico, where they will help in restoration efforts after the storm passes.
Ian is expected to become a major hurricane by Tuesday morning, according to the 2 p.m. Monday forecast update released by the National Hurricane Center. A tropical storm watch is in effect for Lake Okeechobee and from Englewood south to the Florida Keys. A hurricane watch is in effect from Englewood north to Tarpon Springs, just north of the Tampa Bay area.
To check if there is a power outage in your area, visit fplmaps.com.
Hannah Morse covers consumer issues for The Palm Beach Post. Drop a line at hmorse@pbpost.com, call 561-820-4833 or follow her on Twitter @mannahhorse.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Hurricane Ian: Florida Power & Light prepares for 'widespread outages'
