BRANDON, Fla. — Thousands of people in Hillsborough County are still without power Saturday as crews work around the clock to restore electricity.
Tampa Electric told ABC Action News that about 295,000 of their clients were affected by the hurricane, and they have already restored the power to about 78% of them. They expect for nearly all of their clients to have power restored by Sunday. The harder hit areas, such as the eastern part of Hillsborough County and Polk County, are expected to be restored by Monday.
Crews at Tampa Electric were hard at work Saturday, faced with having to repair disfigured and downed powerlines. “Knock off at 10 and then start the day again at 6 a.m. the next day,” said Chris Rodriguez, a TECO worker. Tampa Electric crews have been working 16-hour days to restore power to as many people as possible. “And we’re not stopping until we get everybody back in power,” said Rodriguez.
Tampa Electric said they have crews here from as far away as New York helping to restore power to residents in this area.
Another issue: fixing lift stations. Without electricity, they cannot pump sewage water along, causing sewage to run over onto residential streets.