With more than a million people without power in Florida, AEP crews from the Valley are heading there to restore power.

The team of 22 line workers left Wednesday morning, the same day Hurricane Ian arrived. Thousands are expected to be affected by the Category 4 storm.

RELATED: Ian makes landfall in southwest Florida as Category 4 storm

“AEP Texas is part of something we call a mutual assistance program where the utilities help each other out in the event of a storm of this category,” AEP Texas spokesperson Eladio Jaimez said. “We're sending service crews to help in the restoration of power, and we're also sending forester crews to help with the trees that have been blown over by the hurricane, by the strong winds."

With wind speeds reaching over 130 miles per hour, Jaimez said the aftermath will be a challenge.

The 22 local line workers will be among the 200 AEP Texas workers providing relief to Florida communities for the next couple of weeks.