TAMPA, Fla. — With thousands still without power in South Florida, TECO is continuing to work day and night on getting the lights back on.
Throughout Florida, 360,000 customers, including some non-TECO customers, remain without power. About 40,000 customers had their power restored Monday morning.
TECO CEO Archie Collins says that more than 6,000 line workers are working 16-hour shifts, but there is a lot of work to be done.
"We know how frustrating it is, how inconvenient it is not to have power, and so the team is really committed to the cause," says Collins.
In the New Baycrest neighborhood, just a few miles from the Tampa International Airport, Ben and Maria Coggins are picking up their home after surviving both hurricanes.
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"We feel blessed for what we do have. We're not really crying about what we no longer do or what we don't," says Bill.
They still don't have power, but most of the first floor in their two-story home will have to be remodeled.
So power isn't their focus. For them, it's all about staying positive.
"We're alive. All of our family members are alive and accounted for, you know. And unfortunately, not everyone can say that. So our hearts go out for them," says Bill.
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Collins says workers have come from as far as Canada to help in the efforts, but adding more bodies wouldn't speed up the process.
"The more resources you throw at it, the greater the risk you're going to have a safety issue. And so 6,000 resources is by far the largest contingent ever assembled at TECO... so we have what we need to affect a timely and a safe restoration," says Collins.
TECO expects complete restoration to be done by next Thursday.
This article was originally published by Blake Phillips for Scripps News Tampa.
