Hurricane Ian: FPL crews already at work restoring power where 'we can safely get there'

WEST PALM BEACH — As Hurricane Ian approached Florida’s southwest coast as a dangerous Category 4 storm, Florida Power & Light crews began working to restore power in areas affected Wednesday morning by the storm’s outer bands.

Nearly 11,000 FPL customers in Palm Beach County were without power as of 3 p.m. Wednesday, with power having been restored to about 39,000 customers in the county, according the FPL power tracker website.

FPL CEO Eric Silagy said crews were already working Wednesday to restore power in areas where it is safe to do so.

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“We’re continuing to work in between feeder bands with the men and women who are out in the field to get the lights back on as quickly and safely as possible,” Silagy said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon in West Palm Beach. “We’re going to continue to do that throughout this event.

"Obviously, in certain parts of the state right now, in southwest Florida where the storm is coming ashore, we can’t work in the field,” Silagy said. “But everywhere else where the impact is being felt and we can safely get out there, we are out restoring power as we speak.”

Silagy said Hurricane Ian is likely to be a “life-changing event,” anticipating that sections of the company’s service area in southwest Florida will be beyond repair after the storm and will require a complete rebuild.

“I can’t stress the difference that makes,” he said. “Repairing can be done often in hours or days. Rebuilding can take many days or weeks. We are preparing for that rebuilding effort as we speak.”

Silagy said about 19,000 people were stationed at 37 sites throughout Florida before the storm, with about 30 states providing assistance.

“We will continue to expand those sites and open new sites as needed, and secure additional resources if we need it, he said, "once we get in and understand what kind of damage we’re actually seeing, particularly in Southwest Florida.” 

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FPL begins restoring power to those in Hurricane Ian's path