JEA reported Sept. 29 that less than 1% of its customers are without power in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
According to the city utility’s electric outage map, at 8 p.m. Sept. 29 there are 150 active outages impacting 819 customers.
“The storm damage impacted JEA’s entire 900-square-mile service territory; it was not isolated to one particular area. That aspect, along with the amount of downed trees and branches, is making the final restoration work challenging,” the utility said Sept. 29 on the storm center page of its website.
JEA said Sept. 29 the utility “has restored more than 267,000 customer outages since the beginning of Helene. All JEA electric crews and contracted restoration crews are out today across our service territory. Due to significant damage to trees and infrastructure, we are working diligently to clear debris and repair damaged equipment. We appreciate your patience as we continue to work the customer outages that remain.”
Helene made landfall at 11 p.m. Sept. 27 in Taylor County about 140 miles west of Jacksonville as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph.
While most Northeast Florida schools, courtrooms and government offices closed Sept. 26-27, they will reopen Sept. 30.
The city of Jacksonville said the last of its five Helene shelters closed Sept. 28.
President Biden declared a major disaster declaration Sept. 23 for parts of Florida impacted by the storm, but that does not include Northeast Florida.
Federal funding is available to affected individuals in Charlotte, Citrus, Dixie, Franklin, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Taylor and Wakulla counties.
Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Federal funding is also available to state, tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work in Charlotte, Citrus, Dixie, Franklin, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Taylor and Wakulla counties.