Port Tampa Bay gas stations began operating again Friday afternoon, promising relief to Tampa Bay residents struggling to find gas for cars and generators.

Three of seven gas stations are expected to begin filling tankers by Friday evening, said port spokeswoman Lisa Wolf-Chason. This is the first step in getting more fuel to the gas stations.

The port was without power all day on Thursday. As of this afternoon, only one fuel terminal had power.

The news comes as outages mount in the wake of Hurricane Milton. More than three-quarters of gas stations in Tampa and St. Petersburg were out of power, gas or both as of this afternoon, according to GasBuddy, a tracking website. Statewide, nearly 30% of stations were out of service.

The few gas stations with electricity saw a sharp increase in demand on Friday. A line of cars stretched more than a mile long along State Road 52 in Pasco County as hundreds waited to get gas. Several gas stations along the highway were clogged late Friday afternoon, nearly two days after Milton’s arrival.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state is refueling 20 gas stations and adding generators to 19 today.

According to Wolf-Chason, trucks filled with gasoline are already starting to leave the port. Shipping routes are expected to open on Saturday, bringing more supply.

However, she warned that consumers should continue to remain in “austerity mode”. Gas stations would need electricity to enable fuel shipments, she said. Gas stations are among the 924,000 customers in Tampa Bay without power. In Pinellas and Pasco counties, Duke Energy expects power to be restored by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday

“We’re just one step in the supply chain,” Wolf-Chason said. But “the situation is constantly improving and will only get better in the next few hours.”

One expert said consumers might have the best luck finding gas at major travel centers like Wawa, Pilot Flying J, Walmart and Costco – assuming those stations have electricity.

Times staff writers Romy Ellenbogen and Max Chesnes contributed to this report.