All co-op members who lost power from Hurricane Milton had power on Saturday, Oct. 12, the third day...

October 14, 2024

All co-op members who lost power from Hurricane Milton had power on Saturday, Oct. 12, the third day of restoration.

The category-3 hurricane made landfall near Tampa on the night of Oct. 9, bringing torrential rain and wind. While most of the service territory experienced tropical storm gusts, the southern and southeastern areas bore the brunt, with most of the damage in Flagler, Lake, Levy, Marion, Putnam and Volusia counties.

Hurricane Milton exited Florida the next morning, leaving more than 35,000 members without power. A tremendous effort that day brought power back to 28,000 members. By noon on the second day, restoration was substantially complete (98% restored). All members were restored by day three, including the members on Drayton and Hogg Islands.

"This marks day 21 of the combined response for Hurricanes Helene and Milton by statewide and Florida's co-ops," said Mike Bjorklund, executive vice-president and general manager of the Florida Electric Cooperatives Association, in an email to FECA member cooperatives. "Either effort would be considered enormous, but combined, the co-ops' response to back-to-back storms is nothing short of historic."