Today, Gulf Power announced that on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 13 days after Hurricane Michael left the Florida Panhandle and 30 hours ahead of estimated timeline, they have restored power to more than 95 percent of all customers who were able to safely take power. Gulf Power had originally estimated that power restoration would be completed on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at midnight. Gulf Power, alongside storm crews from across the country, have rebuilt a significant portion of the electric system in Bay County, which serves approximately 103,000 customers.

Click here to view latest restoration map.

“This is a major milestone. It was important for us to quickly mobilize the resources needed to rebuild our energy system and restore power for our Gulf Power customers for this critical first step in recovery for the entire community,” said Stan Connally, chairman, president and CEO of Gulf Power. “However, the work is just beginning for many, with thousands of Gulf Power customers unable to safely reconnect.”

While more than 95 percent of the customers who could take power are restored, Gulf Power estimates there are approximately 15,000 to 20,000 customers who still cannot safely take power due to hurricane damage to their home or business.

“The entire storm restoration team has felt the appreciation and encouragement from the community, and we want to thank each one of our customers for their patience and support as we worked around the clock to restore power” Connally said. “And that commitment won’t stop as we transition our work to customer reconnects and completing the rebuild of the smart-grid infrastructure.”

Next Steps – We are Committed

Gulf Power is committed to continuing the restoration for the less-than-five percent of customers remaining who can safely take power and for customers who will need to repair their homes, businesses and electrical equipment in order to receive power safely. Once customers are able to make necessary repairs, which should be handled by a licensed electrician, they may call Gulf Power at 1-800-225-5797 to schedule a reconnect.

Although much of the workforce from around the country will be returning to their homes and families, more than 1,000 crew members including transmission, distribution, tree trimmers and damage assessment team members will remain as boots on the ground. This large restoration team will be focused on customer reconnects, electrical equipment clean up and physically and electrically repairing the system to pre-storm condition and reliability.

“We are keeping a team of approximately 10 times the number of crew members than normally work the four-county area affected by Hurricane Michael to ensure we can serve our customers as quickly and safely as possible. It is our mission to assist in accelerating the recovery of these communities because this is our home and we are here to stay,” said Connally. “This was an unprecedented storm, and our unprecedented response will continue.”

What Gulf Power Customers Can Expect as Repairs Continue

Gulf Power asks for patience as we continue to work on the electrical system and reconnect more customers as they make repairs. Some customers may experience temporary power outages due to activities around debris removal, planned outages that require the company to disconnect some customers so they can safely reconnect other customers, and unplanned outages due to weakness in the system that are detected as lines become energized.

Restoring Power – By the Numbers

• 16 states and Canada were represented by crews on our system
• 3,161 distribution line crew members
• 439 transmission line crew members
• 1,246 tree-trimming crew members
• 2,204 support personnel
• 6 staging sites are set up in the heart of the damage to house and feed approximately 7,000 crew members and support personnel
• More than 6,800 distribution poles have been replaced
• More than 4,400 vehicles on the ground (including bucket trucks, fuel trucks, service trucks, pick-up trucks)
• 705,400 gallons of fuel have been used
• More than 300,000 meals served (+21,000 meals per day) to storm crew personnel
  Preparing for Power

Gulf Power wants to ensure customers know what they can do now to ensure they can be safely connected at the earliest opportunity when power is restored to their area.  

• Know what you need to repair – Homeowners and businesses are responsible for electrical equipment attached to the house (service stack, attachment hardware, riser and meter box). Gulf Power is responsible for the wire or service line to the house and the electric meter. If the homeowner’s equipment is damaged, repairs will be needed before Gulf Power can connect service. See this graphic for more information.

• Do not attempt to fix the damage yourself. 
• Before you call to have your power reconnected, be sure you have a state of Florida licensed electrician make the necessary repairs. To verify a contractor is licensed in the state of Florida, visit myfloridalicense.com. Customers should check with their county for inspection requirements related to Hurricane Michael
• Notify Gulf Power at 1-800-225-5797 when your repairs are made and you are able to receive power. 

• Keep area near and around power poles clear of debris – As customers clean up from the storm, it is important to keep all debris at least 10 feet away from all electrical equipment, such as power wires and poles or the green padmount box on the ground (pictured here). It is especially important not to place debris on top of the green padmount box. This can make it difficult for lineworkers to perform connection work and can present a danger during debris removal.
• Transfer/Reconnects – For customers who need to transfer their service due to Hurricane Michael, visit GulfPower.com or call 1-800-225-5797. The Account Establishment Charge will be waived for residential customers relocating within Gulf Power's service area due to Hurricane Michael. The AEC will also be waived when the customer reconnects service at the original premise location, following repairs or rebuilding. This does not apply to temporary service poles.
• Disconnects – For customers who will no longer be able to safely take power due to severe damage from Hurricane Michael, visit GulfPower.com or call 1-800-225-5797 to disconnect your home

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