TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Electric (TECO) shared when it expects to restore power for the hundreds of thousands of people still without it across Tampa Bay.
With 6,000 linemen working around the clock, TECO's estimated restoration dates range from Monday to Thursday, depending on which county you live in.
TECO's power restoration timeline
Monday, Oct. 14
TECO customers in Pasco County should have power by 11:59 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 15
TECO customers in Polk County should have power by 11:59 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 17
TECO customers in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties should have power by 11:59 p.m., but many of these customers are expected to have power restored before then.
By Sunday, TECO says 55% of Hillsborough and Pinellas customers should have power. By Tuesday, 75% should have power.
About 70% of TECO customers lost power during Hurricane Milton with nearly 600,000 outages in the area. According to the company, these outages were mostly caused by uprooted trees or other storm debris that knocked down overhead power lines and poles.
“We wish to assure customers that their power will be restored within a week, if not much sooner, following this historic hurricane,” Archie Collins, TECO's president and CEO, said. "The continued flooding and remaining storm debris may slow our efforts in some areas, but we make tremendous progress each day. We are confident in the strong team we’ve assembled to execute our storm restoration plan and if you haven’t seen us on your street yet, you soon will.”