Idalia knocked out power for 18,000 in Manatee. Much has been restored 

Over 18,000 Manatee County homes lost power as Hurricane Idalia grazed Southwest Florida overnight.

It was a far cry from Hurricane Ian, which last year cut power to over two-thirds of the county’s electric customers.

On Wednesday morning, electricity had been restored for over 13,000 customers, Florida Power and Light reported.

But some new outages were also still being reported.

As of 9:30 a.m., FPL reported that 3,090 customers were without power but by 10 a.m. that number had increased to 3,790.

In all, 17,980 of FPL’s almost 203,000 customers in Manatee County were affected.

Peace River Electric Cooperative, Manatee County’s other electric provider, reported that only 24 of over 40,000 customers were without power on Wednesday morning. On Wednesday afternoon, that number increased to 311 customers.

Check power outage status

▪ To check FPL’s outage map, visit www.FPLMaps.com

▪ To check Peace River’s outage map, visit https://members.preco.coop/maps/OutageWebMap/

This story was originally published August 30, 2023 at 10:51 AM.