September 27, 2023 – One year ago tomorrow, Hurricane Ian forever changed the history of SWFL. With winds of 155 miles per hour, Ian devastated the entire electric infrastructure leaving all LCEC members without power. What took LCEC 80+ years to build was devastated with a single, catastrophic storm. Homes and businesses were destroyed, roads were flooded and wiped away, and barrier islands were completely cut off from the mainland.
Before the storm, LCEC began executing the Emergency Restoration Plan, shifting into restoration mode more than a week before landfall. Line workers and tree trimming crews were staged throughout the LCEC service territory in preparation. As the storm approached, these crews in addition to 400 LCEC employees lay in wait for what was to come.
In the days following the storm, LCEC led a Herculean effort to mobilize more than 2,500 resources needed to restore power to customers as quickly and safety as possible. Help came from everywhere in the nation and work continued around-the-clock to help bring normalcy back to SWFL.
As work pressed on for weeks, a large number of LCEC employees lived in their offices. They did this not just to fulfill their restoration duties, but because they did not have homes to return to. They put their lives and loses on hold until the lights were on for all LCEC customers. Some employees share their stories about the moments following the storm and their commitment to restoring power in this short video.
LCEC is proud of the resilience, dedication, and selflessness that transpired before, during and after Ian not just by employees and mutual aid resources, but the SWFL community as a whole.
The 2022 LCEC Annual Report fully recaps the LCEC journey through Hurricane Ian with photos, timelines and stories of resilience. Download a copy today at lcec.net.
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