Power Outages

To report any life-threatening conditions, please call 911.

Report an outage

You will need your account number or a phone number associated with your account. Update your information below.

  • Call 1-877-588-1010 to report a power outage or electrical emergency
  • Report your outage online
  • Text OUT to 35069
Update your information

Help us serve you better by updating your primary and alternate phone numbers. Our automated system will match your landline or mobile number to your residential or business address when you call, helping us locate outages and problems quickly.

Sign up for Power Updates via text, email or phone

Tampa Electric's Power Updates will keep you informed about your electric service. When you sign up, you can let us know how you'd like us to contact you. You can receive texts, emails, and/or phone calls regarding your service and other important information.

If you already have a Power Updates profile, log in to manage your contact information and settings.

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About power outages

Providing reliable service is one of our top priorities. However, natural occurrences like trees and animals coming into contact with electrical equipment cause more than half the outages that occur. View our reliability tip sheet pdficon to learn more.

Did you know there are two main types of outages - a power outage and a momentary interruption? Download our outage brochure pdficon for complete details.

Prepare your home for power restoration

You should make sure your home is ready to safely receive electricity once power has been restored. Make sure there are no flammable items on the stove, no irons left on or other potentially dangerous situations. Turn off as many appliances as possible that require electricity and turn them on one by one after power is restored. This causes less stress to the power system and ensures that all customers get restored without unnecessary delays. You may want to leave you front porch light on so you will know when power is restored. When in doubt, or when leaving the home for an extended period, you should switch off your power at the main breaker.

Outage map


View our outage map to monitor and track outages.

Safety comes first

As we make safety our top priority, we ask that you do the same. Please follow these critical electrical safety guidelines.

We balance our commitment to reliable service with the health of the trees we must trim near power lines. We're proud to have received recognition as a Tree Line USA utility by the National Arbor Day Foundation™, in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters.

Why does my power go out?

Did you know that most outages are caused by natural occurrences? View our reliability tip sheet to learn more.

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List of carriers supported
  • AT&T
  • Sprint
  • T-Mobile
  • Verizon
  • Alltel
  • Boost
  • Cellcom
  • C Spire Wireless
  • Cincinnati Bell
  • Cricket
  • Nextel
  • nTelos
  • US Cellular
  • Virgin
  • ACS/Alaska
  • Bluegrass Cellular
  • Cablevision (Optimum Mobile)
  • Cellone Nation
  • Cellular One of East Central Illinois
  • Centennial Wireless
  • Cox Communications
  • EKN/Appalachian Wireless
  • Element Mobile
  • GCI
  • Golden State Cellular
  • Illinois Valley Cellular
  • Immix/Keystone Wireless
  • Inland Cellular
  • iWireless
  • Nex-Tech Wireless
  • Plateau Wireless
  • South Canaan
  • Thumb Cellular
  • United Wireless
  • Viaero Wireless
  • WCC
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Power outage

A power outage, lasting one minute or longer, usually happens when a problem occurs somewhere along the electric distribution system – this can be any place between the power plant and your home or business. When a power outage occurs, Tampa Electric will respond to the outage and make any repairs necessary to restore power. If you notice damage to your meter or related equipment, please view this illustration to determine who is responsible for repairs.

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Momentary interruption

A momentary interruption typically lasts less than a second and is usually caused by a short circuit. Short circuits happen when something comes in contact with power lines, such as an animal or tree, or when power lines come in contact with each other. When this happens, a "breaker" automatically de-energizes the circuit and causes an interruption to your service. Special electrical equipment is designed to quickly open and close the breaker two or three times automatically – in separate attempts – to clear the problem. When this occurs, you might experience a momentary interruption each time. In most cases, short circuits clear themselves and a power outage is avoided. If the problem persists however, Tampa Electric will respond to the outage and make any repairs necessary to restore power.

It's important to understand that a momentary interruption lasting less than one second is the result of a "safety device" designed to automatically open the circuit to prevent damage that can lead to an extended outage. During Florida's hurricane season, outages may increase due to high winds and lightning. To keep outages to a minimum, Tampa Electric inspects and clears away trees and limbs from power lines. In addition, Tampa Electric works with environmental experts to protect birds and other animals by researching new ways to prevent them from coming into contact with power lines.

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