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High Demand Interrupts Power In Pasco, Elsewhere

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By LISA A. DAVIS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 22, 2009

Updated: 01/22/2009 09:56 am

NEW PORT RICHEY - Not only has it been frigid outside, but many Pasco residents and businesses were feeling a chill inside Thursday morning as power outages surely had people reaching for extra blankets.

By mid morning, 2,000 Progress Energy customers were without service and already about 2,000 more had their electricity restored since midnight, said spokeswoman Sarah Varga.

The hardest hit areas Thursday were north of State Road 54 and at SR 54 and Suncoast Parkway in Land O' Lakes with 1,200 and 1,800 customers experiencing the power freeze, respectively.

A sprinkling of customers in west Pasco was also without power during the overnight hours, Varga said.

Most customers heard the heat click back on by mid-afternoon, she said.

The cause of the outages was simple: "It's the cold weather," she said. "High, high, high demand."

Withlacoochee River Electric customers also experienced outages, said spokesman David Lambert. In Pasco, Hernando, Polk, Citrus and Sumter counties, 2,820 customers' power was knocked out beginning around 7 a.m. Thursday because of the freezing temperatures and high power demand, he said.

The majority of those – 2,100 – were in west Pasco, mostly in the Hudson area. Most were back in business by 8:10 a.m., he said. Crews are still working to restore about 10 to 20 customers, Lambert said about 9:30 this morning.

"We had crews in who began to work on it immediately," he said.

Though temperatures were expected to dive below freezing once again on Friday, power companies were hoping avoid a repeat of outages.

"We've gone through and were able to make some repairs to the affected areas," Varga said Thursday afternoon. "We believe tonight we will not see the problems we did this morning."

Progress Energy also made adjustments to power plants so more electricity was expected to be available for customers, she said. But even though the forecast said otherwise, utility officials were hoping for assistance from a higher authority, Varga said.

"Hopefully, Mother Nature will help us out some," she said.

Temperatures in Pasco on Thursday bottomed out at well below freezing, causing even thick frost on windshields and lawns looking more white than green. The forecast for overnight and Friday morning called for similar temperatures with a hard-freeze warning in effect.

Residents were bracing for what could have been more than three hours of the mercury dipping between 27 and 20 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Pasco's Office of Emergency Management warned residents to cover plants, protect water pipes and make sure outdoor pets had warmer shelter or some sort of protection from the chill. Residents were also encouraged to bundle up themselves with several layers of clothing.

Holy Ground Homeless Shelter on Denton Avenue and Impact Family Church were open Thursday night providing those in need shelter from the cold. On Wednesday night, 23 people used the church shelter. Holy Ground numbers weren't available.

Reporter Lisa Davis can be reached at ldavis@tampatrib.com.

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