Still need power? You might be able to speed up the process

As utility crews work around the clock to restore electricity in Georgia, property owners might bear some of the responsibility for repairs.

Georgia Power reminds customers that damage to the meter box, or other component the utility company is not responsible for, must be fixed before service can be reconnected.

If a tree fell on your property and damaged that equipment, Georgia Power assessors will leave a note at your house with instructions on what to do.

The company’s Outage & Storm Center an be reached online at http://outagemap.georgiapower.com/ and www.georgiapower.com/storm, or you can call 888-891-0938.

Lights are back on for 700,000 Georgia Power customers after the storm snapped more than 1,000 poles and downed nearly 200 miles of lines as more than 2,000 trees fell.

Across the region, initial estimates show Irma damaged 350 transformers across the state.

Georgia Power said that before and during Irma all of its resources were held in the state to lead restoration efforts. Although the utility is part of the larger Southern Company network that brings crews from multiple states to assist with disasters, the mutual aid services Georgia Power requested have been dispatched to the harder hit areas in Florida.

Nearly 8,000 workers are trying to get power flowing.

Tri-County EMC reports 5,500 outages as of 11:30 a.m. Thursday, down from nearly 19,000 with at least 50 broken poles after Tropical Storm Irma.

Dozens of additional linemen joined the effort and are helping speed the progress.

Lingering outages are expected to be restored by the end of the weekend in hardest hit neighborhoods in northwest Jones County, north Baldwin County and southeastern Putnam County near Lake Sinclair.

After nearly 60 hours of work, Flint Energies had more than 3,600 members still without electricity as of Thursday morning.

Crews restored service to 27,000 members since the storm hit.

“Several rested crews worked overnight to restore about 1,500 members,” Flint’s Chief Operating Officer Ty Diamond said.

The rest of the crews began at 6 a.m. with help from cooperatives in North Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Central Georgia EMC has restored service to 92 percent of its outages since Monday.

Crews from Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas are pitching in.

As of 6 a.m., nearly 3,000 of its members still don’t have power, down from 35,000 at the height of the storm.

This story was originally published September 14, 2017 at 6:04 AM with the headline "Still need power? You might be able to speed up the process."