October 25, 2005
FPL’s first full day of restoration gets underway
Assessment will identify extent of damage

MIAMI, Fla.– While the state recovers from the hard punch delivered by Hurricane Wilma, Florida Power & Light Co. crews along with out-of-state contractors will begin their first full day of restoration work throughout FPL’s service territory today. FPL will also conduct an assessment of the electric grid to determine the extent of damages caused by the storm.

The company has assembled a combined restoration work force totaling more than 6,000 and said that the number of restoration personnel will continue to grow as additional utility and contractor resources are made available by neighboring states. The company has already received and accepted offers of assistance by utilities from as far away as Canada.

Since Monday afternoon, crews have restored 251,800 customers of the approximately 3.2 million FPL customers left without power by Hurricane Wilma. With the first full day of restoration ahead, many more customers will be back in service by the end of day today. Hurricane Wilma, a powerful Category 3 hurricane at landfall brought hurricane force winds extending out in a 180-mile swath and tropical force winds well beyond that.

The company said that it could take weeks to restore power to all of its customers, although many will have power before then. About 60 percent of FPL’s 35 county territory was affected, covering nearly 22,000 square miles. Just hours after the storm cleared the peninsula, severe damage was confirmed to the electrical grid including extensive damage to FPL’s transmission lines and substations. Transmission lines are the high power lines running from power plants to communities and eventually connecting to distribution lines. FPL said that its power plants appear to be in good shape, but the company said a more thorough inspection of both its plants and the electric grid will be done today.

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’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.

Hurricane Wilma – Customer Counts or Percentages
October 25, 2005 – 6:00 a.m.

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.