Hurricane Milton Leaves Florida in the Dark: Duke Energy Struggles with Power Outages

The effects of the devastating Hurricane Milton have left the Sunshine State of Florida in oppressive darkness. Duke Energy, one of the largest energy providers in the U.S., faces the enormous challenge of restoring power in the affected areas. The company estimates at least four days to restore electricity to many of its customers following the widespread power outages caused by the hurricane. The storm made landfall on Florida's west coast as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday before moving out into the Atlantic Ocean shortly thereafter, causing considerable damage according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC). It left not only flooded areas but also deadly tornadoes, claiming the lives of at least 16 people. According to forecasts from Duke Energy, power is expected to be restored in twelve counties by no later than 11:59 PM ET on October 13th. In the particularly hard-hit counties of Pasco and Pinellas, however, residents will have to wait until at least 11:59 PM ET on October 15th. Currently, according to Duke Energy's outage map, at least 750,391 customers are still without power. Current figures from PowerOutage.us indicate that a total of 2.2 million households and businesses in Florida are affected by power outages. In addition to Duke Energy, the energy provider Florida Power & Light Company is also significantly affected, with 677,681 customers waiting for electricity.