RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. – One of the big questions every time we get into hurricane season is about power: When will we lose it and when will we get it back?
On Thursday, representatives from Florida Power & Light gave us a look at the preparations they're making so that they can send out crews to make repairs as soon as Dorian passes.
At one facility alone in Riviera Beach, they have 4,000 transformers and other pieces of equipment set up and at the ready.
They said throughout the state, they have 11,000 more transformers, along with 27,000 power poles and 5,000 restoration crew members on standby.
In 2017, when Hurricane Irma hit, we saw outages for days, causing major issues for people across South Florida.
"By putting in stronger, more storm-resilient poles, smart switches and other means have helped us shave days off the restoration," FPL spokesman Bill Orlove said. "But storms can be very humbling, and we don't know what Dorian is going to lead us to and how that restoration is going to be. But I can tell you that we are ready; we're prepared and we will address all of the outages as they happen and get the lights back on safely and as quickly as possible."
Local 10 News reporter Ian Margol was at FPL's emergency response headquarters in Riviera Beach Thursday, where members of its staff coordinate efforts to restore power for everyone affected by the storm.
Right now, this is all preparation because they don't know exactly where Dorian will hit. We're told they have not decided on locations for staging areas at this time.
FPL officials said nearly 13,000 employees and additional personnel have been secured to help restore power after the storm.
Employees are also working with other utility companies throughout the nation to secure additional crews and equipment ahead of the storm.
To download the FPL app, text the word "App" to MyFPL (69375) or enroll in alerts by texting the word "Join" to MyFPL (69375).
FPL's emergency response plan:
- Nearly 13,000 employees and additional personnel is ready to restore power.
- FPL is working with utilities nationwide to secure additional crews and equipment.
- FPL will be updating their power tracker.
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