FPL is ready to respond as Tropical Storm Colin approaches the Florida peninsula; urges customers to finalize their preparations

- Much of Florida is expected to experience severe weather; customers in affected areas may experience power outages

- We have positioned more than 6,000 resources across the state to begin power restoration as soon as it's safe to work

- We urge customers to finalize their preparations and make safety a priority

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Jun 06, 2016, 01:38 ET

JUNO BEACH, Fla., June 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) is ready to respond as Tropical Storm Colin nears the Florida peninsula and we urge customers to finalize their preparations.

The latest forecasts indicate severe weather across the state, including heavy rain, winds and the potential for flooding and isolated tornadoes. Tropical Storm Colin is forecast to make landfall near Florida's Big Bend this afternoon or evening. Much of Florida is expected to be impacted by this storm and FPL customers in affected areas may experience power outages.

"During the past 24 hours, we have been aggressive with our preparations, including having prepositioned more than 6,000 restoration resources throughout the state, paying particular attention to the West Coast of Florida, where we expect initial storm impacts, as well as in the Daytona-St. Augustine area," said Eric Silagy, president and CEO for FPL. "While we expect outages from Tropical Storm Colin, FPL has invested more than $2 billion since 2006 to build a stronger, smarter, more storm-resilient electric grid so we can get customers' power back on quicker after severe weather, such as what we're faced with today."

As part of our planning for Tropical Storm Colin, we have mobilized and pre-positioned our restoration workforce, so they can quickly start working as soon as it is safe to do so. Restoring power safely and as quickly as possible is our top priority, and we ask our customers to be safe, too.

As long as it's safe, our restoration crews will work to restore customers' power as the first bands of severe weather hit, and they'll work in-between weather bands and after the storm clears until all customers have power again.

Please stay safe
Safety is always FPL's priority. We urge customers to make it their priority, too:

Record your FPL account number in a location that will be readily available. By knowing your account number, you will be able to quickly access your account online at FPL.com using your computer or mobile device. Also, have our phone number (1-800-4OUTAGE or 1-800-468-8243) handy, in the event that you need to call to obtain information through our automated system.
If someone in your home is dependent on electric-powered, life-sustaining medical equipment, review your family emergency plan for backup power or make arrangements to relocate when a storm warning is issued.
Stay away from flooded areas, where standing water can hide dangerous conditions, such as downed power lines.
Use caution when driving.
- Power interruptions may cause traffic signals to stop working without warning. If you come to an intersection with a non-working traffic signal, Florida law requires that you treat it as a four-way stop; and
- Avoid driving on flooded roadways.

How to stay informed
FPL communicates restoration information to customers frequently through the news media and the following mobile-friendly resources:

FPL website: FPL.com
Twitter: twitter.com/insideFPL
Facebook: facebook.com/FPLconnect
FPL Power Tracker: FPL.com/powertracker

Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the third-largest electric utility in the United States, serving more than 4.8 million customer accounts or more than 10 million people across nearly half of the state of Florida. FPL's typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill is approximately 30 percent lower than the latest national average and, in 2015, was the lowest in Florida among reporting utilities for the sixth year in a row. FPL's service reliability is better than 99.98 percent, and its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet is one of the cleanest among all utilities nationwide. The company was recognized in 2015 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Market Strategies International. A leading Florida employer with approximately 8,800 employees, FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability, ethics and diversity, and has been ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in Fortune's 2016 list of "World's Most Admired Companies." NextEra Energy is also the parent company of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. For more information, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.

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SOURCE Florida Power & Light Company