Duke Energy Florida providing financial support to communities and billing assistance for customers affected by Hurricane Michael

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Oct. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy today said it would provide flexible bill payment arrangements to customers experiencing financial hardship due to Hurricane Michael.

In addition, the company will waive late-payment charges for up to two months for customers who experienced significant property damage.

The company also will hold bills for certain customers in the hardest-hit counties to allow those customers to focus on more immediate concerns. 

"Many of our customers were impacted by Hurricane Michael and will experience financial difficulty in the days, weeks and possibly months ahead. We encourage affected customers to call us so we can offer flexible payment arrangements to assist them during this time of need," said Lesley Quick, Duke Energy's vice president of revenue services.

Customers who need assistance or have questions can call Duke Energy at the following numbers:

• Residential customers – 800.700.8744
  
  
• Business customers – 877.372.8477

The company recently awarded almost $350,000 to relief organizations in Florida, and also is matching donations, dollar-for-dollar, from Duke Energy employees.

Today, 3,000 repair workers continue to restore power to Duke Energy customers on the Florida Panhandle. About 10,000 customers remained without power as of 1 p.m.

Customers can view an online map that provides the most current estimated power restoration times:

https://www.dukeenergyupdates.com/michael/florida/florida-restoration-timeline

Below is the latest power restoration information, by geographical zone.

• Zone 1 – Taylor, Madison, Hamilton, Suwannee, Lafayette, Dixie and Gilchrist counties: Power has been restored to all customers whose properties can receive power.
  
  
• Zone 2 – Jefferson and Leon counties: Power has been restored to all customers whose properties can receive power.
  
  
• Zone 3A – Wakulla County: Power has been restored to all customers whose properties can receive power.
  
  
• Zone 3B – Franklin County communities of Carrabelle, Lanark Village, Panacea and Alligator Point: Power has been restored to all customers whose properties can receive power.
  
  
• Zone 3C – Franklin County communities of St. George Island, Eastpoint and Apalachicola: The majority of customers whose properties can receive power will have service restored no later than 11:59 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 17. Visit https://www.duke-energy.com/outages for details.
  
  
• Zone 4 – Communities in this zone are located where the center of the hurricane made landfall, causing massive destruction. The majority of Gulf County customers whose properties can receive power, except for those in St. Joe Beach, can expect to have service restored by 11:59 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 18.                                                                     

Duke Energy currently is unable to provide an estimated power restoration time for Bay County and Dog Island. The company is working hard to determine that information as soon as possible. Many parts of this area are difficult to access or totally inaccessible. Some areas will require extensive reconstruction of the electric system.

Visit https://www.duke-energy.com/outages for details.

More information

• Estimated power restoration times apply to customers whose homes and businesses did not experience flooding or other damage that might prevent electric service restoration – due to safety reasons.
  
  
• Locations impacted by flooding or other damage might require repairs by a licensed electrician and/or inspection by local officials before electric service can be restored.
  
  
• Damaged meter boxes are one example. Though Duke Energy owns the actual meter at each customer's home or business, the customer owns the meter box in which the meter is mounted. The company cannot restore power to a location whose meter box is damaged, for safety reasons.
  
  
• For storm or power restoration updates, visit https://www.dukeenergyupdates.com/michael/florida – or follow Duke Energy on Twitter (@DukeEnergy) and Facebook (Duke Energy).
  
  
• Latest damage photos – https://news.duke-energy.com/multimedia-gallery/photos/hurricane-michael-florida

24-Hour: 800.559.3853

SOURCE Duke Energy