Thousands of residents in Marion County that are still without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton should have it restored by tonight, as utility crews work around the clock more than three days after the hurricane passed through the area.
As of 6 a.m., there are just over 3,460 residents in Marion County without power. That includes approximately 2,885 customers of Duke Energy and 575 customers of SECO Energy.
According to a statement issued by Duke Energy on Saturday, the utility company says residents in Marion County will have their power restored by “11:59 p.m. on Sunday, October 13.”
After the hurricane passed through Marion County on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, as many as 70,000 residents were left without power.
In addition to Marion County, Duke Energy says it will also restore power to Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties by midnight. Customers in Pasco and Pinellas counties will have their energy restored by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, October 15, according to the company.
“It’s only been a few days since Hurricane Milton tore through the state, leaving behind unimaginable destruction and more than a million of our customers without power,” said Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida storm director. “While we’ve already made significant restoration progress in that short time, we will not stop until we get the lights back on for all our customers.”
The company says that customers who experienced “extensive damage or flooding” have required additional time for restoration due to inaccessibility.
Over the weekend, Marion County officials reported that transfer stations would cease extended operations and begin operating once again at normal hours.
Beginning Wednasday, the county will begin collecting tree and vegetative debris from its major road network.
The county says that it has also set up the following “designated drop-off locations for vegetative debris”:
- 5700 SW Hwy 484, Ocala, FL 34473
- 5823 NE Jacksonville Road, Ocala, FL 34479
- 13145 SE County Highway 484, Belleview, FL 34420
Those drop-off sites will be open daily from Sunday, October 13 through Sunday, October 27, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.