### Power Restoration Estimates Released for Tampa Bay After Hurricane Milton

Utility companies have provided timelines for restoring electricity in Tampa Bay following the severe damage inflicted by Hurricane Milton. Thousands of utility workers are actively working to repair the electrical infrastructure.

Tampa Electric Co. announced on Saturday that it plans to restore power to nearly all customers in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties by Thursday. The company expects that 55% of customers in these counties will have power by Sunday, with 75% by Tuesday. In contrast, customers in Pasco County should expect full restoration by Monday, while those in Polk County should see power restored by Tuesday.

Duke Energy shared similar updates, projecting that the majority of customers in Pasco and Pinellas counties will have electricity by Tuesday. The utility company also estimated that power in Brevard, Citrus, Hernando, Highlands, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties should be restored by Monday. As of Friday, Duke Energy had restored service to 350,000 customers, although more than 850,000 remained without power.

By Friday night, Tampa Electric Co. had managed to restore power to over half of the nearly 600,000 customers who experienced outages due to Hurricane Milton. The utility described the impact of the hurricane as "unprecedented for the region," attributing most outages to uprooted trees and storm debris that damaged overhead lines and poles. Flooding of electrical infrastructure and debris on transmission lines compounded the problem.

Given the pre-existing saturation from Hurricane Helene, the storm caused increased flooding and additional stress on trees, making them more susceptible to the hurricane’s winds. In the aftermath, Tampa Electric Co. focused first on restoring electricity to essential services such as hospitals, airports, and police stations. Assisted living facilities and nursing homes were also prioritized.

Archie Collins, president and CEO of Tampa Electric Co., reassured customers that power restoration would occur within a week, if not sooner, following this historic hurricane.