High winds knocked power out for hours in the Florida Keys, its utilities said
Windy weather caused a widespread power outage affecting tens of thousands in the Florida Keys for nearly four hours on Thursday morning, according to two local power companies.
More than 56,000 residents and visitors from Islamorada south to Key West were impacted, the Keys two utilities said.
Keys Energy Services, the energy company of the Lower Keys, said the 5:30 a.m. outage originated in the Upper Keys, within the Florida Keys Electric Cooperative Association’s service area.
“A transmission line outage is currently affecting all KEYS’ customers,” Keys Energy Services said on X, formerly Twitter.
Florida Keys Electric Cooperative said the outage originated at a Marathon substation.
“Stormy weather has caused a wide-spread power outages from Islamorada south,” Florida Keys Electric Cooperative said on Facebook. “Crews are currently working to restore power service quickly and safely.”
The Florida Keys saw sustained winds of around 20 mph Thursday, with gusts up to 25 mph, said National Weather Service Key West meteorologist Nancy Barnhardt. The windy weather was expected to stick around at least through Saturday, she said.
The outage affected about 32,000 customers in the Lower Keys and 14,500 in the Upper Keys.
Julio Torrado, spokesman for Keys Energy Services said that as of 9 a.m., all the utility’s customers were back online.
Nikki Dunn-Cullen, spokeswoman for the Florida Keys Electric Cooperative Association, said that by 8:50 a.m., the tie-in line to Keys Energy was “fully energized,” and power was restored to all the utility’s customers impacted by the transmission outage.
Electricity in the Keys is supplied throughout the island chain by a main transmission line that receives bulk power from the mainland, Torrado said.
This story was originally published December 14, 2023 at 7:41 AM with the headline "High winds knocked power out for hours in the Florida Keys, its utilities said."
