MIAMI, Nov 03, 2005 -- BUSINESS WIRE

 

Aggressive efforts continue to restore power to the 17 percent of Florida Power & Light Company customers remaining without electric service since Hurricane Wilma hit Florida. The restoration team of more than 18,000 workers mobilized by FPL has brought power back to more than 2.7 million customers of the 3.2 million impacted by the major storm; it's now focused on the 532,300 customers remaining out of service.

The company announced this morning that given the completion of restoration in Collier County last night, the west coast is now essentially restored. While a complement of crews will remain in these counties to manage any localized service problems, the company's restoration force will continue to converge on the remaining damaged areas in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. FPL is asking customers on the west coast (Lee, Hendry and Collier counties) and treasure coast (St. Lucie and Martin counties) to call FPL at 1-800-4OUTAGE (1-800-468-8243) if they do not have power.

FPL further advanced restoration completion times in some areas.

-- St. Lucie and Martin counties -- Essentially all customers will have power restored by end of day tomorrow (Friday).

-- Palm Beach County -- The areas of Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay will be essentially restored by end of day Nov. 11; customers north of PGA Blvd., by end of day tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 4); all other areas, by end of day Nov. 9.

-- Broward County -- The area west and south of I-75 will be essentially restored by end of day Nov. 9; customers north of I-595 and west of University Drive, by end of day Nov. 9; all other areas, by end of day Nov. 13.

-- Miami-Dade County -- The area north of SW 8th Street will be essentially restored by end of day Nov. 11; customers between SW 8th St. and SW 88th St., by end of day Nov. 10; Miami Beach south of SW 79th St., by end of day Nov. 10; all areas south of SW 88th St., by end of day Nov. 8.

The announced dates represent the very latest date that essentially all customers in each area will get electric service back; the great majority of customers will have power restored well before these estimated dates.

The FPL restoration team has entered the house-by-house, line-by-line phase of restoration. In the earlier phase, FPL was able to bring hundreds of thousands of customers back on line each day, as it repaired substations and main lines. Because of the extensive and widespread damage from Wilma, there are many isolated outages that take more time to restore. In many cases, poles or lines have been damaged and require crews to clear debris and repair equipment, often in hard-to-access backyards. Consequently, smaller customers are restored daily at this stage.

The company continues to focus on restoring power to schools and addressing public safety. Customers using a portable generator should check the manufacturer's recommendations and follow them for proper use. Everyone should stay away from all downed power lines and consider every line energized. If customers see a downed line and feel it presents a clear and imminent danger to themselves or others, they should call 911 or FPL at 1-800-4OUTAGE. If they have called to report a downed line once, they don't need to report it again.

Florida Power & Light Company is the principal subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE: FPL), nationally known as a high quality, efficient and customer-driven organization focused on energy-related products and services. With annual revenues of more than $10 billion and a growing presence in 26 states, FPL Group is widely recognized as one of the country's premier power companies. Florida Power & Light Company serves 4.3 million customer accounts in Florida. FPL Energy, LLC, FPL Group's wholesale electricity generating subsidiary, is a leader in producing electricity from clean and renewable fuels. Additional information is available on the Internet at www.FPL.com , www.FPLGroup.com  and www.FPLEnergy.com .

SOURCE: Florida Power & Light Company

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