ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Duke Energy Florida is targeting to have all of its customers' power restored by Monday evening, with the exclusion of those impacted by damage or flooding from Hurricane Ian.
About one million customers have received power back in their homes, and Duke Energy will being to wrap up restoration, the company said in a news release.
“Our crews have restored nearly 1 million customers since the storm left Florida, and we are pushing ahead to have all customers restored Monday night,” Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president, said in a statement. “Our crews have worked tirelessly the past few days, and we thank our customers for their patience during this stressful time.”
As of 2 p.m. Monday, about 15,000 of the 1.9 million customers Duke Energy serves in Florida remain without power, the company said.
Duke Energy was reportedly able to restore power to most of its customers because of recent improvements to its grid, minimizing outages and restoration times.
“Duke Energy Florida’s storm preparation and grid modernization paid dividends as we were able to begin restoring power even before the storm exited our territory,” Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida storm director, said in a statement. “We still have work to do in some flooded areas, and we’ll be able to restore service there as soon as it is safe to do so.”
Customers who experience a power outage can report it to Duke Energy by visiting their website, using the Duke Energy mobile app, calling 800-228-8485 or texting OUT to 57801.
The company has also provided an outage map for customers to view the latest information on power outages.