October 24, 2005
Hurricane Wilma hits Florida harder than expected; FPL’s electrical grid suffers extensive damage from broad swath of hurricane and tropical force winds; FPL asks for customers’ patience as repairs may take weeks

Miami, Fla. -- Hurricane Wilma made landfall this morning as a Category 3, much more intense and larger than earlier forecasted. It has brought wide-spread hurricane and tropical force winds, along with flying debris, rain and flooding.

Already approximately 3.2 million of FPL’s 4.3 million customers are without power, affecting more than 6 million people. FPL expects that it could take weeks to restore power to all customers, although many will have power restored before then.

Wilma has brought hurricane force winds over a 180-mile radius and tropical force winds well beyond that. A great portion of FPL’s 35-county, 27,000 square mile service territory has been impacted.

The damage Wilma will have on FPL’s electrical grid is expected to be severe and more extensive than what FPL customers experienced during Hurricanes Frances or Jeanne last year, this is largely because of the larger geographical impact of a major hurricane, particularly in the more populated areas of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

There is no need to call to report your outage at this time.

• Because of remote monitoring equipment, FPL will know if large power lines have been damaged and you’re without power.

• Please do not call FPL to report outages at this time.

• Please call ONLY if you see downed lines that pose a clear and imminent danger. Call 911 or 1-800-4OUTAGE if you see such a situation. And if you have already called to report such a condition, there is no need to call again.

FPL urges its customers to stay safe during and after Hurricane Wilma.

• Do not walk in standing water as you might not see a downed power line that could still be energized and dangerous. Be careful venturing out, especially at night, as fallen trees and debris could cover energized lines.

• Stay away from downed power lines and consider every downed line as energized. If you see an electrical line down and you think it presents a clear and imminent danger to you or others, call 911 or FPL at 1-800-4OUTAGE.

• If you’re considering using a portable generator, check the manufacturer’s recommendations and follow them for proper use. Plug appliances directly into the
generator and not into the main electrical panel. Remember, only a licensed electrician should connect a generator to a main electric panel.

• Never operate a generator inside your home or even in the garage. Keep generators well away from open windows so exhaust does not enter your home or a neighbor’s home.

• For additional safety tips, visit www.fpl.com.

FPL knows its customers want and need information about when their power will be restored so they can make decisions for themselves and their families.

• FPL anticipates restoration could begin late today with its first full day of restoration Tuesday. Crews will be able to work when winds subside below 30 miles per hour.

• As soon as the storm passes, FPL will begin damage assessments and will be providing a system-wide time of restoration as soon as possible.

• Stay tuned to local radio, TV and newspapers for specific reports on FPL’s progress in assessing and repairing damage to the electric system in your area.

FPL is prepared to restore power as quickly as possible and already have out-of-state crews positioned in Florida to work alongside FPL crews.

• FPL has been tracking this storm since last week. Plans are in place and its employees are standing by to begin work as soon as it is safe to do so.

• FPL has 1,001 out-of-state line and 610 vegetation personnel positioned within Florida to work alongside its FPL team after the storm passes. This is the largest number of assisting crews that FPL has had pre-landfall of any hurricane. A restoration force of FPL crews and assisting contractors now totals 5,100, and will continue to grow as the future path of Hurricane Wilma is better known and additional utility and contractor resources are freed up by neighboring states.

• FPL is prepared to set up staging sites to position its crews – and their needed supplies – closest to the affected areas.

FPL’s well-tested restoration plan brings power to critical infrastructure and the most customers in the least amount of time.

• First, FPL assesses the overall system and repairs FPL power plants and the major lines that carry power from plants to towns and communities.

• Concurrently, FPL restores service to critical infrastructure to facilitate the work of those who provide for community health, safety and public welfare -- such as hospitals, police, fire, communications and water, sanitary and transportation providers. FPL already has been in contact with all county emergency operations centers that have been activated as a result of the storm. FPL will maintain these communications with our community partners to be sure vital services are restored as quickly as possible.

• FPL simultaneously deploys field teams to conduct neighborhood-by-neighborhood damage assessments. It does this so the right resources, crews and materials are assigned to each effort. FPL also sets up staging sites to begin work in the areas that were hit the hardest.

• After dealing with restoring service to critical infrastructure, FPL restores all other customers using a priority restoration process. The process focuses on making repairs to electrical facilities that will return power to the largest number of people first, then the next largest number, and so on, until power is returned to everyone.

• Work is not assigned according to when you called to report your outage, where you live or the status of your account. Work will begin in multiple locations wherever we have damage and customers out of service, and it will progress according to a plan that prioritizes groups over individuals.

FPL thanks our customers for their patience and understanding as the FPL team works around the clock to restore power and help our communities get back to normal.

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