Hurricane Ian made landfall yesterday along the Gulf Coast of Florida as a strong Category 4 hurricane. Now a tropical storm, Ian continues to bring heavy rainfall, high winds, and storm surge as it crosses the state. As of 9:30 a.m. EDT, approximately 2.6 million electricity customers were without power in Florida, according to a statement from Edison Electric Institute. "Our thoughts are with those who were or are being impacted by Ian and with those who are in the storm's path."
Florida residents are urged to be patient and to continue to shelter in place in order to keep the roads clear for search and rescue crews and workers conducting damage assessments.
Electric companies in the path of Ian strategically pre-positioned equipment, resources, and mutual assistance workers from other states to assist in their storm response as conditions allow. Nearly 44,000 workers from at least 31 states are mobilized to assist when and where they can, provided it is safe to do so. Impacted electric companies in Florida already have restored power to more than 500,000 customers.
Power restoration is a team effort. The CEO-led Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC) is engaged to ensure unity of effort across the highest levels of industry and government. Strong industry-government coordination and cross-sector collaboration are critical.
Safety is our industry’s number one priority. Once it is safe to do so, impacted electric companies will assess the damage and will work around the clock to restore power when and where conditions allow. Every electric company has a detailed plan for restoring power after storms. You can learn more about this step-by-step process here.
Assessing damage and restoring power may take several days or more in some areas. In some cases, power restoration will require a complete rebuild of energy infrastructure. Flooding and storm surge create a unique and dangerous restoration environment and can delay initial assessment efforts. In the hardest-hit areas, search and rescue and life safety continue to be the top priority. In areas where Ian is still moving through, crews will not be able to use certain equipment, including bucket trucks, until high winds subside.
Once Ian emerges off of Florida’s coast into the Atlantic, the storm is expected to make a second landfall along the South Carolina coast on Friday afternoon before moving inland.
