Glades Electric Prepares for Hurricane Milton
WE’RE READY
Once again, Florida is facing another major hurricane, and again Glades Electric is making preparations to restore power to our members affected as quickly and as safely as possible. Hurricane Milton has the potential to create widespread outages in our service area. Therefore, we are preparing two 250-person base camps to house restoration crews; one in Hendry County and one in Highlands County. We also have an additional base camp site approved in Glades County in the event an overflow site is needed.
We are continuing to secure additional line crews, but at this time we have over 130 additional line personnel, 105 vegetation management personnel, and 40 damage assessors. To expedite damage assessment, we will be conducting aerial inspections via helicopter to aid our ground assessment teams. We anticipate damage assessment to begin Thursday as soon as conditions safely allow.
We are coordinating our preparation efforts with our power supplier, Seminole Electric Cooperative, and transmission line partners, Duke Energy and FPL.
HOURS OF OPERATION
At this time, we plan to close our Moore Haven and Lake Placid office lobbies at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, October 9. Lobbies will remain closed on Thursday and Friday. However, outage reporting and account management can be handled 24/7 through our SmartHub app. Outages can also be reported by calling 863-946-6200. Crews will be dispatched as conditions safely allow.
RESTORATION
If you have a gate, please be sure we can access our lines for inspections and repairs. If you have a pet, please make sure crews can access our equipment without encountering a pet. Easy access for damage inspection and repair is critical for speedy restoration.
For more preparedness and restoration information, check out these resources:
OUTAGE REPORTING TIPS
- Report your outage. Please do not assume we know you are without power.
- Report your outage in SmartHub for the quickest, most accurate outage reporting, and to avoid busy phone lines. Do not report outages on Facebook.
- You can also call 863-946-6200 to report your outage. Be sure to know your account number or the phone number associated with your account to use the automated system for quick reporting.
OUTAGE UPDATES
We have a live outage map available in SmartHub and on our website. Occasionally, post-storm map updates are a bit delayed due to the volume of power line communications to ping meters.
In the event of major outages, post-hurricane updates will be on our Facebook page at 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. daily beginning Thursday evening. No Facebook account is needed to view the page. Do not report outages on Facebook.
SAFETY
- Downed power lines – Stay away from all downed power lines. If you see a downed line, call 911 and report it in our SmartHub app to avoid busy phone lines.
- Generator safety – Never use a generator indoors or in an attached garage. Visit our webpage for additional important generator safety tips.
Be prepared, and stay safe neighbors!