Tropical Storm Nicole is causing power outages across Florida and in the greater Tampa Bay region this morning.
The storm came ashore overnight near Ft. Pierce.
Officials say that wind and related damage could trigger power outages during this latest storm, although it may not be widespread. Nicole also is moving quickly across the state.
By comparison, Hurricane Ian in late September knocked out power for as many as 2.7 million customers across the state of Florida.
By the numbers
Power Outage USA posts a map showing county-by-county power outage numbers at poweroutage.us/area/state/florida.
Power outage data is published by the Florida Public Service Commission every three hours online at psc.state.fl.us/ or on on Twitter at @floridapsc.
Florida Power and Light Co. provides service, in part, to these counties: Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, Hardee and Highlands. Residents can also monitor real-time power outages here.
Duke Energy is a primary power provider for the greater Tampa Bay region and Central Florida, including Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Highlands, Hardee and Hernando counties.
Polk County is also serviced by Lakeland Electric, from Polk City to Highland city, and the Peace River Electric Cooperative, Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative and Tampa Electric Co.(TECO).
Monitoring and reporting outages
If you have internet access, outages can be monitored on these major power providers' websites:
If your power is provided by a cooperative or municipal government in the greater Tampa Bay region, you can monitor outage updates on these websites:
- Peace River Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Lee County Electric Cooperative
- Sumter Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Lakeland Electric
- Glades Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, Inc.
To assist Florida households and emergency personnel experiencing power outages Comcast's network is offering roughly 90,000 public Xfinity hotspots. Hotspots are free and available to non-Xfinity customers. Register here: https://www.xfinity.com/response.
Power providers ask that residents report any outages they are experiencing.
- Report outages with Florida Power and Light Company here, or call 1-800-468-8243. To report a downed power line, call 1-800-4OUTAGE.
- Report outages with Duke Energy here, call 800-228-8485 or text "OUT" to 57801
- Report outages with TECO here, or call 877-588-1010.
Restoring power
Florida Power and Light Co. said there's nearly 16,000 operators and technicians working "around the clock" to restore power safely to customers.
Duke Energy, which primarily services counties in the greater Tampa Bay region, announced that 10,000 line workers, tree professionals and other personnel were mobilized ahead of the storm. Officials advise residents to report any outages and monitor their website portal for updates.
Tampa Electric says the storm knocked out power to 295,000 customers. The utility brought in about 3,000 crew members from other utilities outside Florida to assist with restoration effort.
