The utility has repaired and restored its entire transmission system
Tampa Electric is making significant progress after Hurricane Irma, restoring power to nearly 60 percent of the customers affected by the storm.
Tampa Electric has restored power to 250,000 customers and has repaired its entire transmission system, which is the high-voltage network of lines that delivers electricity from the power plants.
In total, 425,000 of our 750,000 customers were impacted by the storm, and power has already been restored to about 59 percent of those affected. More than 4,000 line, tree and other personnel are working around the clock in 16-hour shifts to restore power quickly and safely to the 175,000 customers who remain without power.
As part of a statewide restoration effort that is 60,000 people strong, Tampa Electric expects to restore power to essentially all customers by Sunday night. Some customers with more complex damage may take longer to restore.
"We know that our customers want their lives to get back to normal – and electricity is a key part of that," said Gordon Gillette, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. "Thank you for your continued patience, and rest assured, we will get your power restored."
Customer Service has 24-hour coverage – and extra staff on hand – to take emergency and outage-related calls. The company also has assistance from other utilities to take weather-related calls, if needed. For customers with non-storm-related calls, please consider calling later in the week.
Tampa Electric offers customers several ways to report power outages:
- The fastest, easiest way to report an outage is to visit tecoaccount.com/outage.
- Also, enroll in Power Updates from tecoaccount.com to text outage reports or get service updates via text, phone or email.
- Update the phone number and email associated with your account at www.tecoaccount.com/yourprofile. This helps when you report an outage.
- Residential and commercial customers may call Tampa Electric's dedicated toll-free automated power outage phone system at 1-877-588-1010 to report a power outage or electric emergency.
Customers can monitor and track outages in their neighborhoods through the outage map at tampaelectric.com/outagemap. Tampa Electric also will use Twitter @tampaelectric to keep customers informed about outage restoration.
Tampa Electric would like to remind customers to be safe after a storm:
- Remember to keep away from downed power lines and urge others to be extremely cautious.
- Remember to use portable generators safely. Plug your appliances directly into the generator. DO NOT connect your portable generator into your home's circuits. Connecting your generator to the circuits may cause power to flow to outside lines, posing life-threatening danger to restoration crews.
- Portable generators must not be taken into homes or any enclosed space (like a garage) where deadly carbon monoxide gases could build up.
- Stay out of floodwaters, as they can hide energized power lines or put you at risk of drowning.
Tampa Electric, one of Florida's largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves about 750,000 customers in West Central Florida. Tampa Electric is a subsidiary of Emera Inc., a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
