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    • Milton leaves millions in the dark
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    Milton leaves millions in the dark

    Eira Gwyneth Posted on

    Utilities say the restoration process will begin as soon as it is safe to do so. However, customers must expect longer-term power outages.

    More than three million people are without power after Hurricane Milton hit Florida on Wednesday and Thursday.

    As of Thursday morning, it was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. It is moving northeast at 18 miles per hour toward the Sargasso Sea off the east coast of Florida.

    According to USA TODAY’s power outage tracker, about 3,245,549 customers, mostly in Central Florida, are in the dark as of 6:30 a.m. ET.

    59,271 customers in Highlands County, Florida, and 50,053 customers in Flagler County are without power.

    In Hillsborough County, 100% of recorded customers (430,747) are without power, making it the county with the highest number of outages in Florida.

    Hurricane Milton Tracker: Storm leaves Florida at Category 1 strength after hitting the West Coast

    Florida power outage map

    When will power come back?

    According to Florida Power and Light Company, FPL, Florida may experience longer than normal recovery times following the storm.

    “FPL crews will restore power between severe weather zones as long as it is safe to do so,” the company said in a news release Wednesday.

    Before the storm made landfall, Florida residents were told to prepare for extended power outages.

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    Widespread power outages are expected in Florida due to the Milton crisis

    Duke Energy Florida is preparing for widespread power outages expected along the state’s west coast due to powerful Hurricane Milton.

    “As Hurricane Milton approaches the west coast of Florida, Duke Energy Florida urges its customers to prepare for this catastrophic storm and a lengthy power restoration process that will result in extended outages,” Duke Energy stated on its website, the Powering 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

    On Monday, the company announced that it would mobilize around 10,000 emergency personnel to prepare for the high number of outages that its customers could face. Likewise, FPL prepared a workforce of 17,000 people to address power outages following the storm.

    According to Poweroutage.us, 766,984 Duke Energy Florida customers are facing power outages as of Thursday morning. The company originally estimated that over a million of its customers would face extended power outages. Approximately 1,153,288 FPL customers are also without power.

    Hurricane Milton tracker

    Hurricane Milton Spaghetti Models

    The illustrations span a range of forecasting tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center only uses the four or five best-performing models in its forecasts.

    How do I report or check power outages?

    The contact information can be found on your electricity bill. Some common energy providers in Florida are:

    • Beaches Energy: Call 904-247-6241.
    • Central Florida Electric Cooperative: Call (800) 227-1302, report online or through the CFEC Power Partner app. View the outage map here.
    • Clay Electric Cooperative: Call 1-888-434-9844. View the outage map.
    • Duke Energy: Click here, use the app or call 800-228-8485, view the outage map
    • Florida Power & Light: Report it online or via the app, or check your electricity bill for your local number. View the outage map.
    • Fort Pierce Utilities Authority: Call (772) 466-7703.
    • Jackson Energy Authority: Call 731-422-7500 or register online. View the outage map.
    • Lakeland Electric: Call (863) 834-4248, report online or view the outage map
    • New utilities in Smyrna Beach: Call 386-427-1361, report online or view the outage map
    • Orlando Utilities Commission: Call 407-423-9018, text 69682 or log in to report online. View the outage map.
    • Peace River Electric Cooperative: Call 800-282-3824, report online or through the app, or text PRECO to 800-282-3824. Check the outage map.
    • City of Tallahassee: Call 850-891-4968 or 711 (TDD), report online at Talgov.com/Outages or use the DigiTally mobile app
    • SECO Energy: Call (352) 793 -3801 or register online. Check the outage map.
    • Talquin Electric: Sign up for text alerts and SMS outage reports and view outage alerts here
    • TECO Energy Tampa Electric: Call (813) 223-0800 or 1-888-223-0800 or log in to your account. View the outage map.
    • West Florida Electric: Call 1-844-688-2431 or text 1-800-342-7400. View the outage map.
    • Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative: Call 352-567-5133, report online or via the app.

    Recovery efforts after outages

    As power outages occur, restoration efforts will be put in place wherever and whenever it is safe to do so. However, the recovery could encounter problems caused by Hurricane Helene.

    Priority will be given to restoring power to restore power to the greatest number of customers as quickly as possible. According to FPL, the following priorities are set:

    • Power plants and damaged lines and substations
    • Critical facilities such as hospitals, police and fire stations, communications facilities, water treatment plants and transportation providers
    • Main roads with supermarkets, pharmacies, gas stations and other needed municipal services.
    • Smaller groups and local areas

    Julia is a trends reporter for USA TODAY. You can connect with her LinkedInkeep following her X, formerly Twitter, Instagram And TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at [email protected]

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    Eira Gwyneth
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