Mayor Capote Meets With Florida Power Light, Palm Bay Residents Can Expect Power Soon
By Space Coast Daily // October 7, 2016
BREVARD COUNTY • PALM BAY, FLORIDA – Mayor Capote was in Rockledge Friday evening meeting with Eric Silagy, FPL President and Chief Executive Officer, to discuss what is being done to get power back to Palm Bay residents after Hurricane Matthew.
According to Silagy, FPL expects to have power restored to all of Brevard County by Sunday evening, as crews work 24/7 making repairs.
“We have about 15,000 resources working around the clock right now,” explained Silagy. “We already have over 60,000 customers back online in Brevard and it’s only been a few hours since the tropical storm force winds died down.”
The strategy for power restoration has had crews moving from south to north as the storm clears Florida, working their way through Miami, and Palm Beach County and now into Brevard.
Related Story:Wuesthoff Health System Maintained Normal Operations Without Interruption During Hurricane Matthew
For the first time, FPL also pre-positioned more resources than ever before, in areas they knew would be impacted by the storm. Some of the FPL personnel spent the duration of the storm in Palm Bay at the South Regional Water plant on Osmosis Drive.
“Because crews are working south to north and we already had some staged in the area, I am optimistic that we will see power fully restored in Palm Bay in the next 24-48 hours,” Mayor Capote said on Friday.
Most Palm Bay residents expected to lose power when the storm came through early Friday morning but many customers maintained power throughout. Silagy credits this to the “storm hardening” being done by putting concrete power poles in the ground, as well as new technology grids and smart devices available to make repairs.
According to FPL, much of the damage was actually from flying debris and not from downed power lines.
“Barring any major structural damage, and as long as conditions are safe for crews to work, we should have Palm Bay and Brevard County in good shape by Sunday, if not sooner,” said Silagy.
Residents who come across any downed power lines or who are still experiencing power outages can visit www.fpl.com or call 1-800-4-OUTAGE.
