After weathering harsh criticism from county officials, energy providers increased efforts to restore power to several thousand Citrus residents Thursday evening and Friday.
Energy officials said they're pleased with the latest progress.
"We've made major strides," Withlacoochee Regional Electric Cooperative spokesman Ernie Holzhauer said.
But county officials aren't satisfied.
The bottom line, they say: Days after Frances, thousands of residents still don't have electricity.
Officials said they're relieved that power continues to be restored but are worried the increased effort by electric providers is too late in coming to a county that's already bracing for another hurricane.
"It's better than it was two days ago, but as far as I'm concerned, that's unacceptable," County Commissioner Gary Bartell said.
County Commission Chairman Josh Wooten echoed Bartell's frustration.
"I was not pleased with the initial efforts," Wooten said.
Wooten and Bartell both saved their harshest criticisms for Progress Energy Florida.
He praised electric company workers for their hard work, but he questioned why it took such a long time to get the attention of electric companies. For several days after Frances, he said, Progress Energy ignored the county's priorities and was slow to respond to officials' concerns.
"Why didn't this start Monday or Tuesday?" he asked.
Progress Energy spokesman Mac Harris said the company is on schedule to restore power to all customers by Sunday night.
"They're making good progress," he said. "They've had a lot of damage in Citrus County."
Harris said Hurricane Ivan won't change Progress' restoration plans for the weekend.
"We're focused on restoring power as if there's no other hurricane out there," Harris said.
By 4 p.m. Friday, 10,962 Progress Energy customers remained without power in Citrus County; 875 Sumter Electric Cooperative customers were without power Friday morning; and 395 Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative customers had no power Friday afternoon.
Power cannot come back soon enough to appease Wooten or the other commissioners, they said. Many residents have gone without power for nearly a week, including Bartell and his family. That's an unacceptable time period, particularly for a county with a large elderly population, he said.
"Do I wish it was better?" he said. "Heck yes."
Line and tree workers from Progress Energy, Sumter Electric and Withlacoochee continued to work day and night to bring electricity back, energy officials said.
Crews will continue to work through the weekend to restore power.
"We're going to continue our efforts until every last customer has power," Holzhauer said.
Projected path
