Gulf Power News

For immediate release – Oct. 13, 2018

Editor’s Note: Hurricane Michael damage and restoration videos and photos are available at GulfPowerNews.com/resources/restoration/.

Storm crews are working 24/7 to restore power

Crews worked through the night and restored power to 5,000 customers

Crews restored power to 5,000 Gulf Power customers overnight on Friday. Power has been restored to more than 55,000 Gulf Power customers total since Hurricane Michael came through Northwest Florida on Wednesday, and estimated restoration times have now been assigned for some of the areas significantly impacted by the storm.

“We’ve brought in more than 5,000 lineworkers and support personnel, including our Gulf Power team, to the hardest hit areas,” said Jeff Rogers, Gulf Power spokesperson. We’re making progress every day and we ask for, and appreciate, everyone’s continued patience and understanding.”

Estimated Restoration Times

Customers in the hardest hit areas should prepare to be without power for weeks. The following estimated restoration times are for 95% of customers who are able to be take service.

• Bay County west of Highway 79 is estimated to be restored by midnight, Oct. 14.
• Bay County east of Highway 79 to the Hathaway Bridge is estimated to be restored by midnight, Oct. 15.
• Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties are estimated to be restored by midnight, Oct. 19.
• Gulf Power is still working to determine restoration estimates in the hardest hit areas including downtown Panama City, Callaway, Parker, Lynn Haven, Youngstown and surrounding areas.
• NEW – Gulf Power has restored power to 95% of customers in Walton County. For customers who remain without power in Walton County, please call Gulf Power at 1-800-487-6937.
• NEW – Gulf Power is working to provide more specific estimated restoration times by Saturday evening.

Current storm-related outage total as of 8 a.m. CDT

Restoration process

Watch How Power is Restored. 

Gulf Power’s process following the storm begins with evaluation teams arriving in smaller trucks that can more easily navigate through debris and damage. These teams work to determine the damage to the Gulf Power grid in Panama City, but many roads still must be cleared and made safe before more crews can get their larger bucket trucks in to begin the restoration and rebuilding process.

Issues like trees and heavy debris blocking roads, and communications being down can slow down the rebuilding and restoration process, but Gulf Power is prepared for this type of storm devastation. 

As roads are being made safe, and with a restoration plan in place, crews begin the restoration and rebuilding process. This process begins with transmission lines, which are the larger lines on the taller poles that bring power from Gulf Power’s generating plants to the substations.

While transmission lines are inspected and repaired, substation crews begin inspecting and repairing substations. Substations step down the voltage of the electricity from the power plants to a level that powers homes and businesses.

While any repairs are being made to the substations, crews will be inspecting the distribution lines that run through cities and neighborhoods and begin the restoration process replacing poles, lines, transformers and more. Distribution lines carry electricity from our substations to homes and businesses.
 

Stay Connected with Gulf Power

• To get the latest updates on outages, customers can download Gulf Power’s app and access the outage map for the latest restoration information. The app is free and available for iPhone and Android. Just search for “Gulf Power” in iTunes or the Google Play Store.
• Visit MyGulfPower.com and click on the outage map for restoration updates.
• Customers can follow Gulf Power updates on Facebook or Twitter – #RebuildingTogether #RestoringHope #PowerofTeamwork #PanamaCityStrong
• Sign up for free PowerOut alerts through your cell phone by texting REG to MyGulf (694853). Or, visit the Preference Center in the My Account area of MyGulfPower.com to choose whether to receive texts alerts, emails or phone calls with outage updates.
• Gulf Power knows when your power is out. However, you can call 1-800-487-6937 if you have any questions about your outage.

Safety Tips

• Treat any downed wire as if it is energized because you can’t tell by looking if a downed wire is live or not. Telephone or cable television wires that are touching a power line could become energized and should also be avoided. Call 911 to report the location of any downed lines.
• Standing water (puddles from flooding) may be energized from a downed line. Be careful not to touch or step in water near where a downed power line is located. If a downed line is near water — even a small puddle — keep well away.
• Don’t attempt to repair the electrical system or pull tree limbs off lines. Let our trained work crews perform this potentially dangerous work.
• Stay clear of areas where there is a lot of debris or downed trees because it could conceal an energized power line. Also stay clear of chain link fences which may be energized if touching a downed line.
• If you have an electric generator, please ensure that you have isolated your home or business from the utility electrical service lines by opening main breakers or other devices. Do not connect portable generators to your household electrical wiring. This can cause serious injury to you and to our employees working on the lines in your neighborhood. Connect only essential appliances – such as freezers and refrigerators — directly to the generator.
• If your power is off, turn off large appliances and air conditioners and wait 10 to 15 minutes after power has been restored before turning them back on.
• If there is damage to your meter box or the pole on top of your meter box, you must first have an electrician make repairs before we can restore your service.
• If there is flooding in your home or business, we may be unable to restore electric service until the building is inspected by city or county code officials.
• Stay away from areas where our crews are working. If driving, follow road signs, drive cautiously and follow directions in the area of a work crew.
• Please be patient. Our crews will work as fast as safety allows. Before neighborhood lines can be worked on, our crews must first repair larger lines that bring power to neighborhoods.
• See more preparation and safety tips here.
• Customers can get more detailed storm preparation information on the Gulf Power Storm Ready Center webpage.