Eye on the Tropics

Powerless, frustrated residents enter week 2 as Duke works to restore power

ORLANDO, Fla. — More than 69,000 Duke Energy customers remain without power across Central Florida on Monday, one week after Hurricane Irma hit.

The company said it had aimed to restore electricity to 99 percent of customers by midnight Sunday, but as of Monday, there were more than 300,000 power outages statewide.

Officials said the original deadline wasn't met because electrical systems in some areas were destroyed and because storm debris blocked access to power lines, especially in areas where tornadoes hit.

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Apopka resident Francine Uva said she marked the days by the number of times she's paid $45 to refill her generator.

She's up to seven and planning for eight.

"You don't really know if it is going to be on. It's not on as of yet, and they promised it would be on last night," Uva said.

Apopka resident Arthur Archer said he rode out Hurricane Donna in 1960 and lost power for two weeks.

A half-century later, he's once again entering week two without power.

"My food is gone. My bank account is disappearing," Archer said.

"We've been hampered by IT systems issues, forcing us to manually track outage reports and repairs, and that has made it more difficult to provide precise outage numbers and restoration times," spokeswoman Ana Gibbs said. "As we transition back to our IT systems, the outage numbers may look different as the two systems reconcile."

Orange County homeowner Jane Donaldson said she's frustrated because she still doesn't have electricity.

"I've called them repeatedly," Donaldson said. "Every time I call, they say, 'You're the first one to report this outage.' I don't think so. I just don't know what to do anymore."

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Some Seminole County residents have posted signs seeking the help of passing power linemen.

Customer Beatriz Potts-Cerio said she has been disappointed with the speed of power restoration.

"We are not seeing any progress like I hoped we would," Potts-Cerio said. "We had a generator, but we were having a lot of problems with it. So we finally, ultimately, decided to go ahead and spend the money on a hotel."

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The company's president apologized for the lengthy outage and said that its customers deserve better.

Duke Energy officials said customers in Seminole and Marion counties should have power restored by 11 p.m. Monday.

Those who live in Volusia County and near the Orange-Lake county line should have electricity restored by 11 p.m. Tuesday, officials said.