NYT: Fla. Authorities Say Power Restoration Might Take Weeks

Authorities are predicting millions of residents of Hurricane Irma-ravaged Florida will have to wait for weeks for restoration of their electricity — a reflection of the complex task involved in repairing the grid, The New York Times reported.

According to the Times, utilities usually restore power to hospitals and communication networks first before moving to major populated centers.

But wherever the damage, utilities have to have crews inspect the damage first, which on its own can take days, the Times reported.

Even after that, restoration is not just always replacing wires and poles, the Times noted — floods can cause damage to electrical substations that link transmission lines to local distribution lines, and need to be identified and isolated before power starts flowing again.

"You might have an area where most houses are O.K.," Mark McGranaghan, vice president of distribution and energy utilization at the Electric Power Research Institute, told the Times. "But crews still need to check all the buildings and disconnect the ones with damage before they can restore service."

In the future, new technology could help speed the restoration process, the Times reported.

"If we could get the damage assessment process down from several days to a day, that would be a big step forward," McGranaghan told the Times.

But with Hurricane Irma, "a storm this big, when you have this much damage, you can't rely exclusively on sensors. In the end, it's still a lot of grunt work."

• 6.7 Million Customers Still Without Power After Irma
• Acting DHS Secretary: Florida Counties Can Be Added to Disaster Decree