LEE COUNTY, Fla. — As tropical storm Nicole approaches, we’re also seeing the shift to people here in southwest Florida getting set to get through it, like the potential for a loss of power that could slow down recovery time.
Whatever strength that Nicole hits Southwest Florida, people and power providers are trying to stay ahead of it.
LCEC spokesperson Karen Ryan says they're preparing like they would any major storm, Ryan explained how workers will approach the ongoing work, battling through hurricane Ian while handling what’s the come.
"They will continue to work on restoration for Ian," Ryan, adding that workers have been going non-stop since Ian hit, "Then when Nicole gets here they’ll switch and restore power outages as a result of the storm."
LCEC is anticipating power outages, Ryan did note, they’re still in recovery mode and will be able to handle the situation differently this time around but, they're asking for people to be patient, "We are working around the clock to restore their power as quickly and safely as we can," adding that while it may be a hard ask, "If you can move debris, that could help prevent outages," Ryan says sometimes it's flying debris throughout the air that can cause those outages.
As for FPL, they say they won't stop Hurricane Ian restorations and rebuilding equipment and even as Nicole approaches, they're not going to stop restoration, "We'll keep working on all those areas in Southwest Florida as long as conditions are safe to do so," Marshall Hastings, a Spokesperson for FPL.
Hastings says with each storm being different, they’re still tackling Nicole like they did Ian with long-term preparation, "We saw that preparation pay off for our customers after hurricane Ian, we’re going to follow the same process with Nicole," Hastings said as he noted that FPL crews are out working in Southwest Florida right now.
According to Hastings, FPL is currently, trimming vegetation from power lines, propositioning crews, and equipment much like they do with every major storm.
Both power providers agree that there are other things you can do to prepare for the storm, Ryan with LCEC says, "Have a flashlight handy, be able to listen to the radio so they can get regular updates," while FPL spokes person Hastings says to have things like food and water for an extended period of time, "Should you lose power you remember your family relies on medical equipment that requires electricity make sure of a backup plan with that generation or somewhere you can go."
