Power Restoration Progresses in Manatee County as Recovery Continues After Hurricane Milton

Manatee County is gradually regaining power as recovery efforts continue in the wake of Hurricane Milton, which struck Florida's Gulf Coast with force last week. As of Tuesday morning, approximately 5.3%, or 13,709 customers, remained without electricity in the county, according to Find Energy. This marks a significant improvement from Monday morning’s 12% and a sharp decline from the 80% of customers who were initially left in the dark after the hurricane made landfall.

The majority of those still without power are Florida Power and Light (FPL) customers, with over 13,000 affected. A smaller number of outages involve customers of Peace River Electric. In neighboring Sarasota County, about 4.7% of residents, or 14,210 customers, are still experiencing outages.

FPL has been working diligently to restore power, and on Tuesday night, it reached its goal of restoring electricity to 95% of customers in both counties. While this milestone represents significant progress, the company has not yet indicated when full restoration will be achieved for the remaining 5% still affected.

Across Florida, power restoration efforts have led to a drop in the number of outages statewide, with 248,005 customers still without electricity as of Tuesday morning, down from the 3.4 million affected in the immediate aftermath of the storm. Pinellas and Hillsborough counties currently have the highest number of outages, with 105,095 and 88,195 customers still without power, respectively, reflecting marked improvements since Monday.

Recovery efforts are expected to continue throughout the week, as utility crews work around the clock to ensure all affected customers have their power restored as quickly as possible.