- Over 10,000 crew members responding to power outages.
- Extensive damage from high winds, heavy rains and flooding across the Carolinas.
- 850,000 customers affected, nearly 500,000 recovered.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, October 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Thousands of Duke Energy crews are working to restore power to thousands of customers in North Carolina and Caroline from the south after Hurricane Ian.
Since the storm passed and conditions improved, power line technicians and specialists in the Carolinas, other states and Canada, assess the damage and restore the outages since Friday evening. Duke Energy restores power in a sequence beginning with public health and safety facilities and equipment that restore the greatest number of customers.
More than 850,000 customers lost power during the storm. Saturday morning, the teams carried out nearly 500,000 restorations; more than 400,000 in North Carolina and 76,000 in Caroline from the south.
Duke Energy is moving thousands of crews to respond to the hardest hit areas in and around Wake and Guilford counties. There is significant structural damage that can hamper early progress.
More than 70% of Duke Energy’s 1,566 customers in Edgecombe County lost power.
Other hard hit counties included: Moore, Robeson, Vance, Wilson, Columbus, Stokes, georgetownGranville, Scotlandand Orange.
Estimated recovery times – once determined for specific areas – will be posted at duke-energy.com/outages/current-outages.
Customers who are registered to receive outage alerts by SMS from Duke Energy will receive an SMS once an estimated recovery time is established for their location.
“I want to thank our customers for their patience and understanding as our crews work quickly and safely to restore power,” said Jason Hollifield, manager of Duke Energy’s Carolines Storm. “Every response to a storm is unique. Our teams on the ground are working quickly and carefully, supported by many other teammates to provide customer service, communications, supplies, logistics and all the essential work it takes to restore power to our customers.”
Power restoration process
Click here for more information on how Duke Energy restores power.
Customers who experience a power outage can report it as follows:
- Text OUT to 57801 (standard SMS and data charges may apply).
- Visit duke-energy.com on a desktop or mobile device.
- Use the Duke Energy mobile app (download the Duke Energy app to your smartphone via Apple Store or Google Play).
- Call Duke Energy’s Automated Outage Reporting System: 800.769.3766 (800-POWERON)
You can find more tips on what to do before, during and after a storm at duke-energy.com/safety-and-preparedness/storm-safety.
A checklist serves as a useful guide, but it is essential before, during and after a storm to follow the instructions and warnings of emergency management officials in your area.
Tips for protecting refrigerated foods during power outages
For customers who lack power and have full refrigerators and freezers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends the following:
- Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to keep the temperature cold.
- A refrigerator can keep food cold for about four hours if it is not open. If the power is out for more than four hours, use coolers to keep refrigerated foods cool.
- A full freezer will hold temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if half full) if the door is left closed.
The FDA offers additional guidance for proper food handling and storage before, during, and after a power outage at www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-and-water-safety -during-power-outages-and-floods.
duke energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is one of the largest energy holding companies in the United States. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, Caroline from the south, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively possess 50,000 megawatts of power capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, Caroline from the south, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 28,000 people.
Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to meet its goals of net methane emissions from its natural gas business and at least 50% carbon reduction from power generation by 2030 and net emissions carbon emissions by 2050. Zero goals also include Scope 2 emissions and some Scope 3 emissions. zero-emission power generation such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.
Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2022 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list and Forbes’ “America’s Top Employers” list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains press releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy’s illumination features stories about people, innovations, community issues and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on TwitterLinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
Media contact: Jeff Brooks (Caroline Media Inquiries)
Media Line: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DE_JeffB
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