Storm Center

Twenty-four hours after Hurricane Milton’s initial landfall, 96% of Clay Electric members had power after a productive first day of restoration. Thursday began with about 35,000 members out; at 9 p.m., about 7,000 remained without power, mostly in the hardest-hit areas of Flagler, Lake, Levy, Marion, Putnam and Volusia counties.

Fortunately, Milton’s path spared a majority of the service area. It also moved faster than expected, allowing crews to begin restoration efforts much sooner than anticipated.

The restoration effort continues on Friday as Clay Electric personnel, along with mutual aid and contract crews, work toward achieving substantial restoration (greater than 98% with power).

We estimate that all members in Flagler, Lake, Marion, Putnam, Volusia and Levy Counties will have power restored by noon on Saturday, October 12.

Some things to keep in mind throughout Friday:

• If you don’t see one of our trucks outside your home, it’s likely the cause of your outage is out of sight. It’s likely we’re working to repair damages to the main lines that serve your neighborhood.
• If someone nearby has power and you don’t, remember that streets can be served by different feeder lines. The line that serves your neighbor may not serve you.
• If you see one of our crews out working, please slow down and give them plenty of room. If possible, move over a lane, and please do not disturb their work.

Clay Electric crews are working to assess the damage from Hurricane Milton and will work as quickly and safely as they can to restore power to members' homes and businesses. At 8:15 a.m. on Thursday, approximately 35,000 are without power as the storm continues into the Atlantic.

Outages are much lower than they were at the crux of Hurricane Helene.

Some things we ask all members — both with and without power — to please consider as our employees work to bring homes and businesses back online:

• Please don’t disturb personnel who are working in the field. Doing so hinders power restoration efforts.
• Locked gates slow down power restoration. Our crews might need to pass through your gate to get the lights on.
• If you or someone in your home has medical issues, please seek other arrangements where there is power until repairs have been made. Call 911 if you have a life-threatening emergency.

As of Wednesday morning, parts of Clay Electric's service area were already dealing with heavy rainfall from Hurricane Milton as the eye moved closer to Florida's west coast. 

Our crews will continue to work to restore power as long as it is safe to do so.

Wednesday and Thursday are both days you should stay home and avoid the roads. We ask you to be mindful of all advice from your local authorities.

Some reminders should you experience a power outage:

• If you use a generator, keep the machine in an open, well-ventilated area, and do not connect it directly to your main electrical panel as it could cause a dangerous backfeed.
   
• Disconnect large appliances and turn off your air conditioner. When power is restored, having them come back on simultaneously could cause a surge. Keep one light on so you know when the power is back.
   
• Using your MyClayElectric app is the best way to report an outage. If you receive a message upon logging in that states "we are working to resolve outages in your area," there is no need to report your outage. We know about it. If you see "no outages reported in your area," report it.
   
• Do not report an outage via Facebook.
   
• Outages can also be reported by calling 1-888-434-9844. Keep in mind that it's harder to get through as call volumes increase during severe weather.
   
• Please do not call and ask when power will be restored. We cannot provide restoration estimates during hurricanes to individual addresses. Crews are working as quickly and safely as possible.

Clay Electric is finalizing preparations for Hurricane Milton, which is on track to make landfall in or near the Tampa Bay area Wednesday night.

All offices will be closed to the public Thursday and Friday to concentrate on restoration.

Milton was downgraded from a Category-5 storm to Category 4 Tuesday morning, but will remain a dangerous threat to much of Florida. Tropical storm-force winds are expected across most of Clay’s service territory, with the east and southeast areas experiencing potential hurricane-force winds. Apart from winds, major rainfall is expected from this storm, as are a large number of power outages.

The co-op has secured a number of mutual aid crews from neighboring states and is prepared to respond to outages and restore power as quickly and safely as possible, as conditions allow.

Members who are dependent upon electric-powered life-support should make appropriate arrangements. Personnel will restore service as soon as possible, but the co-op cannot ensure any preferential treatment in this process.

All members should have a plan and a hurricane supply kit. Follow this link for more information.

For more updates on the storm and outages, follow Clay Electric Co-op on Facebook.

Hurricane Milton reached Category-4 status Monday at 11 a.m., but shortly thereafter it rapidly intensified, reaching Cat-5 windspeeds.

Hurricane and storm surge watches have been issued for parts of Florida and a surge up to 12 feet threatens the Tampa Bay area, according to the National Hurricane Center. Your co-op’s power supplier, Seminole Electric Cooperative, has a generating station near this region (Hardee/Polk County line), and leadership there is preparing and taking necessary precautions.

As with Hurricane Helene, we are taking proactive moves as Milton also threatens widespread outages to Clay Electric’s service area. All members should have a plan and a hurricane supply kit (follow this link for more information: https://bit.ly/4eN2w7m).

Members who are dependent upon electric-powered life-support should make arrangements as personnel will restore service as soon as possible, but cannot ensure any preferential treatment in this process.

Power outages are best reported through the MyClayElectric app. You can also call 1-888-434-9844, but keep in mind it might be difficult to get through during severe weather.

Clay Electric completed power restoration from Hurricane Helene in the evening of October 3, ending a week of outages from the destruction the Category 4 storm left behind.

“Clay personnel, contractors, and mutual aid pushed through the challenges and finished strong,” said Chief Operations Officer Bryan Gunter.

On Friday, September 27, about 105,000 members were without power after the powerful storm barreled through North Florida. The Lake City and Gainesville Districts were the hardest-hit areas and took the longest to restore.

For several days, Clay Electric personnel, along with mutual aid and contract crews, pushed through downed lines and broken poles to restore power to members. In all, about 750 workers contributed to the effort in the field, and other employees and volunteers provided support.

Clay Electric replaced 622 power poles and 459 transformers during restoration, both numbers that far exceeded those replaced after Hurricane Irma in 2017. The co-op also replaced 144,000 feet of primary conductor, 20,000 feet of service wire, and 150 crossarms.

Clay Electric lineworkers, assisted by mutual aid and contract crews, continued Tuesday to repair damage caused by Major Hurricane Helene, which caused severe damage to the co-op's entire 15-county service area.

By 9 p.m. Tuesday, the service area reached substantial restoration with at least 98% of members having power. Crews will continue restoration efforts until all members are restored.

Some important updates:

• 99% of members in Alachua and Union counties are restored.
• We estimate that 98% of Columbia County will be restored by 10 p.m. Wednesday.
• The Three Rivers Estates and Wilson Springs neighborhoods of Fort White in Columbia County are estimated to have power restored by 10 p.m. Friday.

On Tuesday afternoon, 96% of Clay Electric members have power as the co-op continues to repair damage caused by Major Hurricane Helene. More than 300 broken poles and 200 transformers have already been replaced. Clay Electric employees, assisted by mutual aid and contract crews for a total of more than 755 field personnel, will continue until all power is restored.   

The following are updated estimates for substantial completion:

• We estimate that 98% of members living in Alachua, Levy and Suwannee counties will have their power restored today, Tuesday, by 10 p.m.
• Due to the extensive damage, we have been forced to move our estimate for Columbia County’s restoration. We now estimate that Columbia County (with the exception of Three Rivers Estates and Wilson Springs) will have power restored by 10 p.m. Wednesday.
• The damage is so extensive in the Three Rivers Estates and Wilson Springs neighborhoods of Fort White that power is estimated to be restored by 10 p.m. Friday.

Collections will continue to be suspended through Monday.

Clay Electric crews, assisted by a host of mutual aid and contract crews, continue to restore power today to the areas hardest hit by Major Hurricane Helene, which is said to be the strongest hurricane in history to hit the Big Bend region.

About 88% of our members now have power. The following are updated estimates for substantial completion:

• Bradford, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Lake, Putnam and Volusia counties are substantially complete.
• We estimate that 98% of members living in Baker, Levy, Marion and Union counties will have their power restored by 10 p.m. Monday.
• We estimate that 98% of members living in Alachua, Columbia (except Three Rivers Estates), Gilchrist and Suwannee counties will have their power restored by 10 p.m. Tuesday.
• The damage is so extensive in Three Rivers Estates neighborhood of Fort White that an estimate will not be available today.

The Gainesville and Lake City District office lobbies will be closed to the public Monday and Tuesday, but the drive-thrus will be open. All other offices will be open on Monday.

Our crews have spent days restoring power in all of Clay Electric's 15-county service area and are now primarily focused on the hardest-hit Gainesville and Lake City districts.

Those areas include the counties of Alachua, Baker, Columbia, Gilchrist, Levy, Marion, Suwannee and Union. We still plan to have completion estimates for these counties Sunday.

Putnam County is now substantially restored (at least 98%), joining Clay, Duval, Flagler, Lake and Volusia counties.

We remain on track in our estimation to have Bradford County restored at 98% by Sunday night.

Thank you for your patience as Clay Electric crews, assisted by mutual aid and contract crews, continue to make the extensive repairs necessary to our distribution system, which was damaged by Major Hurricane Helene.

Overall, approximately 79% of Clay Electric members have power as of 1 p.m. Saturday.

• Duval, Flagler, Lake and Volusia counties are substantially complete.
• We estimate that 98% of members living in Bradford, Clay and Putnam counties will have their power restored by 10 p.m. Sunday.
• For our members in Alachua, Baker, Columbia, Gilchrist, Levy, Marion, Suwannee and Union counties, we hope to give a completion estimate on Sunday.

Please remember: If you see one of our crews working in your area, give them some additional space. If it’s a two-lane road and you’re unable to move over, we ask you please slow down to a speed that is 20 mph under the speed limit. Our lineworkers are working as quickly and safely as possible.
 

Crews made great progress in the restoration effort on Friday, resulting in about 60,000 members getting power back after Major Hurricane Helene barreled through the area overnight Thursday.

Clay Electric lineworkers, assisted by mutual aid crews, will be busy throughout the day. At 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, about 1,150 active outages were impacting approximately 47,000 members.

Efforts will continue over the next few days until all members who can receive power are restored. Members can view the outage map in real time here.

For generator safety information and other storm resources, please visit our Storm Center.

Hurricane Helene made landfall Thursday evening, causing widespread damage and outages across Clay Electric’s service territory.

As of 8:30 a.m. Friday, more than 100,000 members are without electricity. Clay Electric personnel and mutual aid crews will work to clear debris and restore power as quickly and safely as possible. Due to the magnitude of the damage, restoration efforts will take time. Clay Electric is unable to provide estimates for when power will be restored.

The storm resulted in a large number of downed power lines. If you see a downed line, move away and do not touch it or drive over it. You should assume that any downed line is energized.

The best way to report an outage is through the MyClayElectric app, which is free to download. You can call 1-888-434-9844, but please be aware that phone lines are limited.

The CSU Tropical Meteorology Project says there will be 23 named storms, with 11 of those storms developing into hurricanes and five of those reaching major hurricane strength, in the Atlantic this season. Hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.

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