Hurricane Ian outages: More than 1.8 million are without power in Florida

More than 1.8 million customers across Florida were without electricity Wednesday evening as the state was slammed by Hurricane Ian.

As of 9 p.m., there were 1,840,891 customers without power statewide, according to the state’s Public Service Commission.

FPL, Florida’s biggest electric utility, had 1,041,780 without power. Scores of people who get service from Florida Public Utilities, Duke Energy and local cooperatives and municipalities’ utilities are also affected.

Duke Energy had 258,253 without power, with the majority — more than 149,500 — without power in Pinellas County, or the Tampa Bay area.

Eric Silagy, chairman and CEO of FPL, warned that recovery will be long and damage “catastrophic” and the extent of damage still unknown. “This is not going to be an easy storm to recover from,” he said, and that he expected parts of southwest Florida to be “beyond repair.”

Electrical services will need to be rebuilt, he said, in a process that could take “many days or weeks.”

[ INTERACTIVE MAP: Power outages across Florida from Hurricane Ian’s impact ]

More than 269,000 FPL customers were without power in Lee County, home to communities such as Fort Myers, Sanibel and Captiva.

About 184,960 FPL customers were without power in Collier County, home to communities such as Immokalee and Naples, according to FPL. Sarasota FPL customers had more than 254,660 without power.

Manatee County — home to Bradenton — had more than 129,800 FPL customers powerless.

Just after 9 p.m. in South Florida, which is served by FPL, Miami-Dade had 12,970 customers without electricity; Palm Beach County had 5,330; and Broward County had 7,220.

[ FULL COVERAGE: Keep up with the latest hurricane updates ]

South Florida’s outages were caused by feeder bands as Ian had moved closer to shore, according to FPL, and crews “worked throughout the night and throughout Wednesday morning to restore power.”

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People walk along International Drive in Orlando on Sept. 28, 2022, as Hurricane Ian approaches central Florida. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

A spokeswoman from FPL said Wednesday that 19,000 crew members from 30 states are in Florida on standby at 37 staging areas, including hotels. They’ll be sent out to restore electricity once conditions are safe. Silagy likened it to “deploying an army.”

When winds drop below 35 mph, FPL will conduct damage assessments with field crews, which include data gathered from a fleet of drones.

[ RELATED: All South Florida airports remain open, but airlines and trains curtailing some services ]

Flooding and tornados are expected to cause extensive damage to the electrical infrastructure and restoration won’t be instant. After waiting for flooding to subside, tree-trimming crews will need to cut away trees and other vegetation before line workers can begin finding and fixing damage.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash