10:43 AM EDT, 10/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Duke Energy's ( DUK ) Florida unit said Friday it is assessing damage caused by Hurricane Milton and has started power restoration in affected areas, with estimated restoration times expected later Friday.

The company said it has restored power to nearly 350,000 customers, but more than 850,000 outages still exist.

Severe infrastructure damage was caused by trees, branches and storm surge flooding, which has corroded equipment, necessitating rebuilding in several areas, Duke Energy Florida said.

Duke Energy ( DUK ) shares were 0.6% higher in recent trading.

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