Florida Power and Light CEO says power restored to 500,000 residents after Hurricane Ian slammed state

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Florida Power and Light CEO says power restored to 500,000

Florida Power and Light CEO Dave Reuter breaks down power outages left in Hurricane Ian's aftermath and the restoration effort underway.

Florida Power and Light CEO Dave Reuter said early Thursday that power had been restored to 500,000 Floridians after Hurricane Ian swept through the state.

"We have just 1.1 million customers out at the moment, but we've also been out and about throughout the storm where it's been safe to do so, restoring power to our customers

"We've actually already restored power to more than 500,000 of our customers," he told Brian Kilmeade during "Fox & Friends" Thursday.

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A flooded street is seen in downtown as Hurricane Ian makes landfall in southwestern Florida, in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S. September 28, 2022.  (REUTERS/Marco Bello)

Reuter said his company's goal is to restore full power for all Florida Power and Light customers as soon as possible while still keeping the safety of workers and crew in mind.

"We understand that our customers require power, and it's really important to get back to normal for them, and so we work really hard to make sure that we can do that safely but, obviously, as quickly as possible," he added.

Naples, Florida streets are flooded on September 28, 2022 as the state is hit by Hurricane Ian.  (Credit: Naples Fire-Rescue / WEATHER TRAKER /TMX)

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Reuter told Kilmeade his company has more than 20,000 restoration workforces staged across Florida with additional support from crews from over 30 states.

He added that efforts to install power lines underground to prevent future outages have been underway for more than a decade.

A total of more than 2 million are estimated to be without power across the state.