More than 5,000 without power in Tampa Bay

As Tropical Storm Elsa moved up Florida’s Gulf Coast, thousands in Tampa Bay were without power just before 11 a.m. Wednesday.

More than 15,400 Tampa Electric Co. customers lost power overnight. By 10:45 a.m., about 3,700 were without power, according to the company’s outage map. Most were in Hillsborough County, where the company’s customer base is concentrated, as well as in Pasco and Polk counties.

The utility does not provide a county total for customers out.

Duke Energy Florida had about 2,300 customers lose power across the state as the storm passed, the majority of which were in Tampa Bay. As of 10:45 a.m., about 1,040 of those customers were in Pinellas County, 34 customers in Pasco County and 271 customers in Hernando County.

Duke Energy estimated that Pinellas County would be restored by 5 p.m., Pasco County by 2:30 p.m. and didn’t have an estimate for Hernando County.

The storm was downgraded to a tropical storm overnight, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 5 a.m. advisory.

Is your power out? Here’s how to report it:

• Duke Energy customers can text “OUT” to 57801, call 800-228-8485 or report it online
• Tampa Electric customers can text “OUT” to 27079, call 877-588-1010 or report it online. Customers can register their phone numbers for a faster experience at tecoaccount.com. The companies’ smart meters also likely know if a customer’s power is out.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

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