Power outages affect thousands in Panhandle

DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) - As of 4:00 PM CT, Tropical Storm Fred has made landfall and is moving through the Florida panhandle, leaving thousands of residents in the dark.

According to West Florida Electric Cooperative that covers most of Holmes, Jackson, and Washington Counties, 1,800 customers are without power.

The largest outage is just north of Bonifay, in Holmes County with almost 1,000 homes without power.

Candace Croft with WEC says crews will continue working to restore power until it is deemed no longer safe to do so.

WEC customers can report outages by texting OUT to 800-342-7400 or call 844-688-2431 (844-688-2431) or Download WFEC’s mobile app for Apple or Android devices.

Gulf Power which serves much of the coastal areas of the Florida panhandle says 4,677 customers are without power. That’s about 10% of their total customer base.

Almost 3,000 are without power in Bay County, with 900 customers in Walton County and just over 600 in Washington County in the dark.

As of the time of this report, there were no outages reported in the Wiregrass Electric Cooperative overage area.

The Pea River Electric Cooperative and Covington Electric Cooperative which also cover the Wiregrass have also not reported any power outages.

In Donalsonville, Georgia Power is reporting one small outage affecting fewer than 10 customers.

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