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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 13 september 2017
Without air conditioning, steamy Florida yearns for power

By GARY FINEOUT between 70 and almost 80
Associated Press percent.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Dan Eckler sat next to his
In a state built on air con- luggage Tuesday at Fort
ditioning, millions of Flori- Lauderdale Hollywood In-
da residents now want to ternational Airport, wait-
know one thing: When will ing for a ride after scoring
the power be back on? a seat on one of the few
Hurricane Irma’s march arriving flights after the air-
across Florida and into the port reopened.
Southeast triggered one “I’m soaking up a few last
of the bigger blackouts minutes of AC before I re-
in U.S. history, plunging as turn to my house with no
many as 13 million people electricity,” said Eckler, 46,
into the dark as the storm who lives in Fort Lauder-
dragged down power lines dale and went 16 days
and blew out transformers. without power during Hur-
It also shattered the cli- ricane Wilma.
mate-controlled bubbles “You learn what you can
that enable people to live cook on your grill. I cooked
here despite the state’s a frozen pizza because
heat, humidity and insects. it was about to go bad,”
Those who evacuated Power trucks and workers head out from Derby Lane, in St. Petersburg, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, he said, referring to his ex-
ahead of the hurricane are 2017, into Pinellas County to restore power after Hurricane Irma. More than 1 million Georgia perience during Wilma.
returning to homes without Power and Electric Membership Corp. customers were in the dark Tuesday afternoon. “And you finally meet your
electricity and facing the (Scott Keeler/Tampa Bay Times via AP) neighbors.”q
prospect of days or even
weeks with little to ease the cane Wilma hit the state 12
late-summer stickiness. years ago. The company
“Power, power, power,” said it had already restored
Gov. Rick Scott said. “The service to nearly 1.8 million
biggest thing we’ve got to customers.
do for people is get their Any disaster that wipes out
power back.” electrical service hits es-
The Irma blackout is still pecially hard in the South,
much smaller than a 2003 where tens of millions of
outage that put 50 million Americans rely on the co-
people in the dark. More coon of comfort provided
than 50,000 utility workers by air conditioning.
— some from as far away Without it, many cit-
as Canada and Califor- ies could barely exist, let
nia — are responding to alone prosper. When the
the crisis, according to lights go out in Florida, the
the association that repre- muggy, buggy reality can
sents the nation’s investor- be jarring even to longtime
owned utilities. residents.
The state’s largest util- There were signs on social
ity, Florida Power & Light, media that some people
said Irma caused the most were growing angry and
widespread damage in tired of waiting. Others
company history, affecting steeled themselves for an
all 35 counties in its territory, extended period without
which is most of the state’s electricity.
Atlantic coast and the Gulf Standing in front of a pro-
Coast south of Tampa. duce cooler at a reopened
On Tuesday, the company Publix grocery store in Na-
announced that it expect- ples, Missy Sieber said the
ed to have the lights back worst thing about not hav-
on by the end of the week- ing electricity is not having
end for the east coast. air conditioning.
Customers living in the “It’s miserably hot,” Sieber
hard-hit neighborhoods in said. “I don’t mind stand-
southwest Florida, where ing in line here.”
damage was much more There’s no immediate cool-
extensive, were expected off in sight. The forecast for
to get power restored with- the next week in Naples
in 10 days. and Miami, for instance,
While acknowledging the calls for highs in the upper
public’s frustration, utility 80s (lower 30s Celsius) and
officials said they are get- lows barely falling below
ting power back on faster 80 degrees (27 degrees
than they did after Hurri- Celsius). Humidity will hover