JUNO BEACH, Fla., Sept. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Power & Light Company (FPL)'s massive restoration army of more than 22,000 personnel continues working around the clock to restore power to the remaining 23 percent of customers impacted by Hurricane Irma. Power has been restored to nearly 3.5 million customers, including 98 percent of all high-priority critical infrastructure facilities in the company's service area.

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"We understand how frustrating it is to be without power, and we appreciate your patience as we work across 35 counties to restore service safely and as quickly as possible," said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL. "As our restoration progresses, we're seeing extensive tree and debris damage in some areas. Just today, I met with crews working to restore power to a home in St. Johns County where a portion of the roof was blown off by Irma and took out the power line. Further south, in places like Miami-Dade and Collier counties, our crews are finding extremely complex and time-consuming restoration challenges, but they're working hard and making progress every hour. Customers who haven't gotten their power back yet should know that, while we still have challenges ahead, we won't stop until every single home and business has their lights on."

Critical infrastructure facility update

As part of its established process in preparation for hurricane season each year, FPL works with each of the 35 counties it serves to determine the appropriate entities to be classified as critical infrastructure facilities. These critical infrastructure facilities are divided into high-priority and priority categories and incorporated into FPL's restoration plans.

Nearly 1,000 accounts classified as high-priority critical infrastructure facilities were impacted by Irma. As of 3 p.m. today, more than 98 percent of these have been restored, including:


    --  112 major hospitals - 100 percent restored
    --  44 emergency operations centers - 100 percent restored
    --  55 air transportation facilities - 100 percent restored
    --  31 seaports and related infrastructure - 100 percent restored
    --  21 correctional facilities - 100 percent restored
    --  55 active military installations - 100 percent restored
    --  22 licensed nursing homes - 100 percent restored
    --  12 licensed assisted living facilities - 100 percent restored
    --  4 hospice facilities - 100 percent restored
    --  12 mission-critical cellular facilities - 100 percent restored
    --  4 dialysis centers - 100 percent restored
    --  36 critical well fields - 100 percent restored
    --  107 water-treatment and sewage-treatment plants - 98 percent restored
    --  33 shelters - 97 percent restored

In addition, approximately 400 nursing homes classified as priority critical infrastructure facilities were impacted by Irma, and more than 98 percent have now been restored. More than 2,100 impacted schools classified as priority critical infrastructure facilities have been fully restored as have more than 1,700 impacted gas stations.

FPL will continue to communicate restoration information through the media and online via FPL.com, Facebook and Twitter. Customers should call FPL at 1-800-4OUTAGE (1-800-468-8243) only to report conditions such as downed power lines or sparking electrical equipment. Call 911 for life-threatening emergencies.

Please stay safe and help us keep crews safe

We urge to continue taking the following safety precautions:


    --  Please heed Florida's Move Over Law that requires drivers to move over
        and slow down whenever there is a utility worker, law enforcement
        officer or a first responder on the side of the road.
    --  Stay far away from downed power lines, flooding and debris; lines could
        be energized and dangerous.
    --  Use extreme caution while driving. Power interruptions may cause traffic
        signals to stop working without warning. If you come to an intersection
        with a non-working traffic signal, Florida law requires that you treat
        it as a four-way stop.
    --  If using a portable generator, please follow the manufacturer's
        recommendations for proper use and always plug appliances directly into
        the generator, not into the main electric panel.
    --  Keep generators well away from open windows to prevent dangerous fumes
        from entering your home or a neighbor's home.

How to stay informed
 FPL communicates restoration information to customers frequently through the news media and the following resources:


    --  Power Tracker: FPL.com/powertracker
    --  FPL website: FPL.com
    --  Twitter: twitter.com/insideFPL
    --  Facebook: facebook.com/FPLconnect
    --  FPL blog: FPLblog.com
    --  FPL Mobile App: Download from the App Store or Google Play

Visit FPL.com/storm for the latest restoration information.

Florida Power & Light Company
 Florida Power & Light Company is the third-largest electric utility in the United States, serving nearly 5 million customer accounts or an estimated 10 million people across nearly half of the state of Florida. FPL's typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill is approximately 25 percent lower than the latest national average and, in 2016, was the lowest in Florida among reporting utilities for the seventh year in a row. FPL's service reliability is better than 99.98 percent, and its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet is one of the cleanest among all utilities nationwide. The company received the top ranking in the southern U.S. among large electric providers, according to the J.D. Power 2016 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study(SM), and was recognized in 2017 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Market Strategies International. A leading Florida employer with approximately 8,900 employees, FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability, ethics and diversity, and has been ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in Fortune's 2017 list of "World's Most Admired Companies." NextEra Energy is also the parent company of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. For more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.

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SOURCE Florida Power & Light Company