Hurricane Debby cuts power for more than 300,000 customers in Florida, Georgia

More than 300,000 electricity customers lost service in Florida and Georgia Aug. 5 as slow-moving Category 1 Hurricane Debby made landfall in Taylor County in Florida's Big Bend Gulf Coastal area, bringing 80-mph winds, 6-10-foot storm surges, heavy rains and flash flooding.

The storm weakened power demand, and natural gas prices showed a decrease from the previous Monday, but no bilateral power prices were available the morning of Aug. 5 for Aug. 6 delivery.

Heaviest hit, in terms of lost customers, was Duke Energy, which had more than 96,000 customers offline, 4.8% of its customer base, as of 11:30 am ET, followed by Clay Electric Cooperative, at more than 40,800 customers offline, almost 21% of its customer base.

"On the forecast track, the center will slowly [move] across northern Florida and southern Georgia today and Tuesday, and be near the Georgia coast by Tuesday night," the National Hurricane Center said Aug. 5.

Storm surges were forecast for six to 10 feet from Yankeetown, Florida, to Florida's Aucilla River, while four-to-six feet storm surges were forecast from Chassahowitzka, Florida, to Yankeetown and from the Aucilla River to the Ochlockonee River, Florida, the hurricane center said.

"Debby is expected to produce rainfall totals of six to 12 inches, with maximum amounts of 18 inches, across portions of central and northern Florida, as well as central and northeast North Carolina through Saturday [Aug. 10] morning," the hurricane center said. "This rainfall will likely result in areas of considerable flash and urban flooding, with significant river flooding expected."

Restoration efforts

Duke Energy said Aug. 5 it had mobilized more than 3,000 power line technicians, vegetation workers, damage assessors and others from its Midwest Operations in Kentucky and Ohio to help respond to power outages from the storm. As of noon, the company had restored service to almost 171,000 customers.

"Crews have worked through the night and the company anticipates restoring 95% of Pinellas and Pasco counties customers by 11:59 pm ET Monday evening, as those areas first experienced the impacts of the storm," Duke said in a news release.

Duke Energy Florida Storm Director Todd Fountain expressed gratitude to "our customers for their patience, our first responders for their hard work and our neighboring utilities for their continued support in the hours and days ahead."

Duke Energy customers "should be prepared for extensive damage and extended power outages," the company said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Aug. 4 declared a state of emergency for 61 counties in or near the storm's path.

The hurricane center has forecast extreme rain conditions to extend through Georgia and South Carolina into North Carolina by Aug. 10.

Georgia Power, which so far has had the most customers offline in that state, said Aug. 5 it has mobilized and positioned resources to respond and restore service as soon as it is safe to do so, including deployment of its Mobile Command Center, a tractor trailer with increased coordination capabilities.

The US Energy Information Administration reported Florida load to be forecast at 40.2 GW for Aug. 5, a 12.5% decrease from 46 GW on July 29. Florida power had no trading on the Intercontinental Exchange the morning of Aug. 5, but initial trading for the Florida Gas Zone 3 price point showed a weighted average of about $2.161/MMBtu for Aug. 6 delivery, down almost 10% from July 30's $2.40/MMBtu.