At 4:00 p.m. West Florida Electric Cooperative (WFEC) had 2,921 members without power caused by 192 individual outages across the four-county service area spanning from the Apalachicola River to just west of Ponce De Leon.
This number is down from a high of over 10,000 members.
With the assistance of crews from our sister cooperatives, we have made great strides in restoration efforts to assure that every member has power as quickly and safely as we can do so.
We realized that some of our members are experiencing extended power outages and very hot weather conditions, making this much more difficult for them.
We are working diligently to try and restore power to all members as quickly as possible.
Please be mindful of the elderly and those with medical needs and reach out to them to offer assistance when possible.
Those with medically essential needs should have already made arrangements for optional shelter or a backup generator.
If you are currently using a backup generator, it is a good idea to turn it off periodically to see if your utility power has been restored.
We encourage everyone to stay hydrated and check on your neighbors. For more information about what to do during extended power outages, visit www.floridadisaster.org and www.foodsafety.gov.
WFEC currently has 43 additional linemen assisting with power restoration efforts.
TS Fred was more severe and caused more damage throughout the area than was anticipated with wind gusts reaching up to 73 miles per hour.
For the most up-to-date outage numbers, visit www.westflorida.coop/outages.
