JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – JEA is still working to restore power to all customers in Duval County after Hurricane Helene.
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JEA said crews have restored power to more than 260,000 customers since Helene pummeled through Duval County.
Crews were still working to bring back power to thousands of people, but Public Information Officer Karen McAllister said the company is facing some challenges.
“The damage has been widespread, and really the story of this storm is the fallen trees and branches throughout our service territory. Because of this saturated ground from the rainfall, we’ve had significant damage to trees, and that means for our crew, before they can even start working on a line, a downed pole, on our outages, they first need to clear trees, clear the debris and that takes a lot of time,” McAllister said.
This is an example of some of the roadblocks slowing down the restoration process.
JEA added the storm damage impacted JEA’s entire 900-square-mile service territory, not just one particular area, which is also making the restoration work more challenging.
As of Sunday morning, JEA was in Phase 2 of restoration, making repairs by electric “circuits.”
Repairing an entire circuit can result in restoring power to about 2,500 homes, according to JEA.
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As of early Sunday, a little over 6,000 customers were still without power, that number should drop as crews continue working on repairs throughout the week.
“JEA employees and contractors are working tirelessly to repair and restore power throughout Jacksonville. We are grateful for their dedication to our community. Thank you to our customers for understanding as we work. We understand the frustration for those still without power. Please know that every customer is a priority, and we will continue our work until power is back for everyone,” JEA CEO and Managing Director Vickie Cavey wrote in a statement.
If you are one of the thousands of customers still without power, you can contact JEA directly at (904) 665-6000 or online by visiting this website.