This is really weird

[lewdyan1]

The entire state of Florida is without Electrcity!!! They are starting to get areas back up, but the roads are out of control!!! Kids in school are on lockdown and won't be dismissed till??? It's kind of eerie!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

very weird indeed. wonder what is up.
stay safe Dyan and all the other Floridians.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

I'm looking at pics online. no one will give a little at the intersections so it's a good thing that the kids are in school.

 

[PrincessNancy96]

Wow~ What is with that.. keep us posted.... I hope you all are back up soon!!!
Give the kids a big hug when they get home!!

 

[PrincessNancy96]

I've got DH calling to check on his grandparents in the Ft. Myers area...and his Uncle..

 

[PrincessNancy96]

CNN reports Disney has been hit by the outage too... It would be my luck I'd be caught at the top of a ride and have to try to remain calm for my kids...or in the dark and two of my kids would be in a separte vehicle!

 

[AlexWyattMommy]

That is so weird. Hope everyone gets home safely.

 

[rlovew]

We were out at my school from about 2:45ish on but when I went to the store and then home afterwards both the store and I had elecricity although I did hear it was widespread.

Rebecca

 

[Dznefreek]

It is not the entire state. It is areas of the state from Miami up to Deltona. The problems is only affecting those served by FP&L (Florida Power & Light). Approximately 3 million people.

 

[Dznefreek]

A nuclear reactor owned by Florida's largest electric company automatically shut down Tuesday, causing sporadic power outages throughout the state that affected 3 million people. Authorities did not specify the cause of the shutdown but say there were no safety concerns.

In Central Florida, outages were reported in Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola. Seminole and Volusia Counties. Progress Energy expected to have most of its customers back online by 3p.m.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said that the two Florida Power & Light nuclear reactors at its Turkey Point power point 30 miles south of Miami automatically shut down. Two other power plants farther north in the state, the Crystal River reactor and St. Lucie twin reactors, continued to operate, although officials at those two facilities noticed the grid disturbance.

"We don't know whether the grid disturbance caused the units to shut down or that their shut down caused the grid disturbance," said Kenneth Clark, a spokesman at the NRC regional office in Atlanta. He said the two reactors were automatically shut down. "There are no safety concerns. The reactors shut down as designed," said Clark in a telephone interview. He said both reactors continued to have offsite electric power. He said two coal-burning power plants at Turkey Point also shut down.

FPL estimated power should be restored by 6 p.m. If residents do not have power at that time, they should call 1-800-4OUTAGE.

The outages began shortly after 1p.m. Eastern time.

A Progress Energy spokesman said a loss of power from non-Progress units caused a shortage of electricity to its customers. An automated system kicked in that helps stabilize power statewide and that caused some of Progress' Central Florida customers to go dark. Progress expected most of its customers to have power back by 3p.m.

The Kissimmee Utilities Authority said more than 7,000 of its customers were affected but power was quickly restored to all of them.

Reports to the Eyewitness News newsroom said power was off in parts of the downtown Orlando area for approximately 20 minutes Tuesday afternoon at about 1p.m. before coming back on. Winter Park officials say they went dark but power has since returned. Orange County Fire and Rescue reported outages from the near Disneyworld complex north to Apopka.

Orange County Schools lost power at Lake Sybelia, Riverside, Dommerich, Zellwood, Lake Weston, West Creek and East Lake elementary schools, Maitland and Hunter's Creek middle schools and Boone, Jones, Wekiva and Apopka high schools.

Brevard County schools without power included Indialantic, Columbia, and Freedom 7 elementary schools, Hoover and Stone middle schools, Edgewood Jr./Sr. high schools and Whispering Hills, Royal Palm and the South Area Adult Education Center.

Police directed traffic in intersections in Daytona Beach where traffic lights stopped functioning. In Orlando, police said about 15 intersections went dark. Palm Bay police said the problems were mostly concentrated in the Southeast area along Babcock Street San Filippo, Foundation Parkway, Eldron, and Bayside Lakes. Election officials in Brevard County said power went out at a couple of polling sites in Tuesday's special election to replace resigned state representative Bob Allen but those outages were not expected to cause any problems.

Officials at Disneyworld said no key areas of its parks were affected. Disney has an agreement with the state of Florida that requires it to reduce usage where there is a major power issue. A Disney spokesperson said the complex reduced power to non-critical areas for about 20 minutes Tuesday afternoon.

At Orlando International Airport, a combination of the power outage and weather stopped departures between about 1p.m and 2p.m. The delay backed up about 30 flights. Melbourne International Airport reported no problems. An official at the Miami International Airport said the facility is working on a generator backup but that no airline delays were reported.

The Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne cancelled Tuesday afternoon and evening classes.

The outages happened in a triangle from the Miami area, to Tampa to Jacksonville. By 2 p.m., most of northern downtown Miami appeared to be back to normal operation, including a campus of Miami-Dade Community College and numerous stores and businesses. Traffic lights were out for a short time but appeared to be back in regular operation. The U.S. courthouse complex, which includes a federal prison, experienced only a brief outage and is equipped with backup generators to keep the power flowing, officials said. Schools in Miami are on a soft lockdown. Officials don't want parents to arrive to pick up children and add to an already chaotic traffic situation.

 

[PrincessNancy96]

Thanks for the informative information Dznefreek!!!!

Glad to hear DW has a agreement...

We call G&G in Ft. Myers and they were fine...

I hope everything is back up and running smoothly now.. I totally understand the schools going in lock down.. still is a very uneasy feeling for a parent...(I'm sure the teachers too!)

 

[mommy2mrb]

That is very scary, hope everyone got home safe and sound!