Duke Energy Florida has been recognized by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) with an Emergency Response Award for its work restoring power after Hurricane Milton in October 2024. The award, given twice a year to EEI member companies, honors efforts to recover from service disruptions caused by severe weather or natural events. Recipients are selected through an international nomination process and reviewed by a panel of judges.
Hurricane Milton struck Florida as a Category 3 storm on October 9, 2024, resulting in about one million reported power outages. Duke Energy Florida mobilized 16,000 resources and restored electricity to 95% of affected customers within approximately 96 hours. The company replaced damaged infrastructure, including over 1,600 power poles, more than 1,300 transformers, and nearly one million feet of wire and cable.
The company’s self-healing technology played a role in the recovery effort. Covering around 80% of Duke Energy Florida’s customer base, this system automatically detects outages and reroutes power when possible. During Hurricane Milton, it saved an estimated 3.3 million hours of potential outages.
“America’s electric companies and their dedicated workforces work tirelessly throughout the year to strengthen the energy grid and to restore power – and peace of mind – for American families and businesses after extreme weather events and natural disasters,” said EEI President and CEO Drew Maloney. “EEI is proud to recognize Duke Energy Florida for its extraordinary response efforts following Hurricane Milton. This recovery award reflects Duke Energy Florida and its storm response team’s incredible commitment to the customers and communities they serve.”
Todd Fountain, storm director at Duke Energy Florida, commented on the restoration effort: “While Hurricane Milton was a devastating storm that left much of Florida’s west-central coast in the dark, our team’s strategic response helped get our customers’ lights back on as quickly as possible, allowing them to focus on what really matters, like their families and businesses, and begin to pick up the pieces of their lives. We know they depend on us for that, and it’s a responsibility we take extremely seriously – not just during hurricane season, but all year long.”
Duke Energy Florida serves about two million customers across a service area covering approximately 13,000 square miles in Florida with an energy capacity of about 12,300 megawatts.
EEI represents investor-owned electric companies across all U.S. states as well as international members operating in more than sixty countries.
Customers are reminded that hurricane season continues through November; preparation tips can be found at duke-energy.com/StormTips and via the Red Cross Emergency mobile app.
For additional information about Duke Energy’s operations or ongoing initiatives related to grid upgrades or clean energy transition projects—including investments in renewables—visit duke-energy.com or follow company updates through social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook.
