According to the Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA), approximately 16,500 north Florida public power utility customers remain without power following Hurricane Michael. Power restoration efforts continue day and night. Significant progress has been in the City of Tallahassee, which is 90 percent restored (approximately 10,000 customers are without power), and in the Town of Havana, 100 percent of customers who can accept power have been restored.
The cities of Quincy and Chattahoochee restored transmission lines yesterday enabling power restoration efforts to progress to essential facilities followed by business and residential customers. Currently, 74 percent of Chattahoochee’s customers are without power and 84 percent of Quincy’s customers are without power.
The City of Blountstown has no transmission access and remains at 100 percent without power. Blountstown is actively working on a rebuild of its electric system now.
Prior to the arrival of Hurricane Michael, FMEA activated its network of mutual aid calling on public power and investor-owned utilities to send crews, equipment and other resources to Florida to assist with power restoration efforts after the storm. There are 567 power restoration personnel from 16 states (including Florida) and 83 individual utilities helping to restore power to the public power utilities affected by Hurricane Michael.
There are some parts of the state that have not been cleared of fallen trees and debris. There may still be areas that could be dangerous. Downed power lines pose a significant threat. Residents should keep these important safety precautions in mind as they clean up after Hurricane Michael:
- Never, ever touch a downed power line or go near one. Always assume the power line is live.
- Do not touch anything or anyone in contact with a fallen power line or other equipment.
- If a power line falls on your car, stay inside the vehicle and call for help.
- Do not pull tree limbs off power lines. Leave those for utility crews to safely handle.
- Avoid areas with debris and downed trees. There could be live power lines hidden inside.
- Also avoid chain link fences and puddles that could have become electrified by downed power lines.
The Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) represents the unified interests of 34 public power communities across the state, which provide electricity to more than 3 million of Florida’s residential and business consumers.
