Longboat Key power essentially restored

Aside from the possibility of a handful of individual customers who might still be without electricity because of a localized problem, Longboat Key’s power has been restored, Florida Power and Light said.

Beyond the power returning to homes and businesses, Longboat Key Director of Public Works Isaac Brownman said power has also been restored to all of the town’s sewage and water-distribution pumping stations. With power restored, the town no longer needs to maintain a series of backup generators to keep systems operating as they should.

Water and sewer systems were shut down as Hurricane Ian approached to minimize the chances of damage to pipes and other infrastructure and was restored to service on Sept. 30, though power failures required backup generators to maintain pump pressure throughout the town.

After boil-water order ran for 72 hours after water restoration, the order was lifted on Oct. 3.

More broadly, FPL estimates to have 95% of power south of Fruitville Road restored by 11:59 p.m Friday night. About 9,600 customers remained without power on Friday morning, the public utility said on its outage page. Nearly 275,000 customers’ power has been restored since the storm subsided to the point crews could go out in the field to begin assessing and repairing damage.

In Manatee County, 686 customers remain out.

In Florida Power and Light’s coverage area, about 50,000 customers are without power, down from a peak of 672,980.

Also, the town’s storm debris collection runs began on Wednesday, and normal recyclable collections were suspended. Vegetative debris should be separated from construction debris and placed in piles at the edge of roadway. Debris pick up along Gulf of Mexico Drive will be handled separately by an FDOT contractor.