Area electric utility companies restoring power after Idalia makes landfall

Tampa Electric

Tampa Electric says 35,000 customers lost power at the height of the storm and that most had their service restored by daybreak.

But as of 1:15 Wednesday 1,570 customers remained without power. The outages were largely centered around South Tampa, Town 'N Country, Temple Terrace and Westchase.

The company, in its final update on the storm, says crews continue to work on those outages and that it expects to have power completely restored today.

As for the 3,000 out-of-state workers the company brought in to help with outages, most of the crews were released earlier in the day so they could work in other areas.

Archie Collins, TECO's president and CEO, says "the weather impact was not as severe as anticipated, and our crews were able to work through the night to restore customers during the storm."

Duke Energy

Duke Energy is reporting more than 18,000 customers without power in just Pinellas County, as of noon Wednesday. 

Florida Power and Light

More than 16,000 Florida Power and Light customers in Charlotte, Collier, Lee, Sarasota and Manatee counties are without power, according to the company's outage map. 

FPL has been working through the evening Tuesday and morning on Wednesday to restore power, according to a press release. Hurricane Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning as a Category 3 storm. 

“We understand how difficult it is to be without power," FPL President and CEO Armando Pimentel says in the release. "That’s why our dedicated men and women are working around the clock to restore power safely and as quickly as possible to get our customers’ lives back to normal.”

The company expects power to be restored in southwest Florida for at least 95% of customers by the end of the day Wednesday. Flooding may prevent some crews from restoring power by that deadline.  

Lee County Electric Cooperative

Despite Hurricane Idalia's current path of reaching landfall north of the Tampa Bay area, the Lee County Electric Cooperative is still anticipating power outages. 

In an email to the Business Observer, a company spokesperson says outages could be caused by wind, rain and airborne debris. 

Currently, LCEC crews are staged on Sanibel Island, Pine Island, Marco Island, Lehigh Acres, throughout Cape Coral and in North Fort Myers. 

"These crews will work around-the-clock to restore any power interruptions," Shannon Williamson, media specialist, says in the email.

Outages and restoration efforts can be tracked here. Williamson reminds people to stay clear of downed power lines as they may still be energized. 

Duke Energy

On Tuesday, Duke Energy announced it had bumped up to 5,000 responders as Hurricane Idalia gets closer. 

“Duke Energy crews and additional workers from across the country are staged throughout Florida’s service territory,”  Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida storm director, says in a release. 

The company has crews currently based at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and The Villages prepared to respond to outages. 

This story is updated as information becomes available.