Duke Energy restores power to 723,000 Carolinas customers, restoration work continues as company determines restoration times for hardest-hit areas

• About 1.1 million customers remain without power as of 1 p.m.
• Workers continue assessing damage, making repairs and rebuilding infrastructure following severe damage caused by Helene
• Company continues moving historic amounts of water through Catawba-Wateree River Basin

Editor's note: B-roll of flooding in Asheville is available on the Duke Energy News Center.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy workers have labored through record flooding, road closures, storm debris and more over the past 24 hours to restore power to 723,000 customers in the Carolinas.

The company said nearly all customers outside of the western parts of the Carolinas should have power restored by 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 29, though many will be restored before then.

Workers continue to encounter major challenges accessing areas across the North Carolina mountains and Upstate of South Carolina, limiting the company's ability to assess damage and provide customers with estimates for when power is likely to be restored. Duke Energy is working with local and state officials to gain access to the hardest-hit areas where roads are obstructed. The company is also supplementing its damage assessment efforts with helicopters and drones and will publish estimated power restoration times as soon as possible.

"Historic flooding, debris and road closures remain an incredible challenge to assessing the severe damage to our system and restoring power in the North Carolina mountains and South Carolina Upstate," said Jason Hollifield, Duke Energy storm director for the Carolinas. "Our crews appreciate our customers' patience and support as they continue working around the clock to safely and quickly restore power."

Power outage and restoration updates
As of 1 p.m. on Saturday, Duke Energy has restored power to 723,000 Carolinas customers impacted by Helene. This includes more than 544,000 customers in North Carolina and 178,000 in South Carolina.

Approximately 1.1 million customers – 539,000 in North Carolina and 597,000 in South Carolina – remain without power. The vast majority of these outages are in the western portions of each state.

The company serves more than 4.5 million customers in the Carolinas, including 3.7 million in North Carolina and 835,500 in South Carolina.

Duke Energy lineworkers, tree trimmers and other storm support workers started assessing damage and restoring power before Helene even exited the Carolinas on Friday afternoon. Workers will continue to assess damage – with the help of helicopters and drones in the hardest-hit areas – and restore power until every customer who can safely receive power is back on line.

Information on estimated restoration times is continually updated on Duke Energy's Outage Maps tool. Customers also can enroll in Outage Alerts to get information about area outages and restoration efforts via text message, voice message or email. 

Power restoration process
Duke Energy focuses on restoring power in a sequence that enables power restoration to public health and safety facilities and to the greatest number of customers as safely and quickly as possible. Our typical restoration process follows this sequence: 

• Public safety situations – crews locate downed power lines and make sure electricity is no longer flowing through the wires.
• Transmission, substation equipment and main distribution lines – these serve large numbers of customers and large geographic areas, and must be restored first to keep electricity flowing from power plants to neighborhoods.
• Essential facilities – emergency service and critical infrastructure such as hospitals, law enforcement, fire departments and water treatment facilities.
• Distribution lines – we work to get the largest number of customers back on as quickly as possible.  

Visit duke-energy.com/Outages/Restoring-Your-Power to learn more about how Duke Energy restores power after major storms.

More storm workers arriving
The company has 13,000 lineworkers, tree trimmers and other support personnel working on storm restoration efforts in the Carolinas. These include Duke Energy employees and contractors based in the Carolinas as well as individuals from other electric companies in 19 U.S. states and Canada.

Duke Energy is also working to bring additional resources to the region.

Move over, it's the law
Duke Energy reminds all drivers to move over or slow down considerably when they see emergency service and state transportation vehicles with flashing lights. "Move over" laws in North Carolina and South Carolina are meant to protect workers – like those working to restore power – from life-threatening injuries.

Additionally, the company asks members of the public to avoid approaching utility workers in the field or entering their work zones as they clear debris and restore power.

Flood and meter box damage
Duke Energy cannot reconnect power for customers whose home or business is flooded until the electrical system passes inspection by a licensed electrician. If there is damage, an electrician will need to make repairs and obtain verification from the local building inspection authority before power can be restored.

A property owner with a damaged meter box or one that is pulled away from the structure will need to enlist an electrician to reattach the meter box and/or provide a permanent fix. This is inclusive of customers currently with and without power. In some instances, an electrical inspection may be required by the county before Duke Energy can reconnect service. An electrician can advise customers on next steps.

Generator safety
Customers using power generators should turn off generators if they see utility crews in the area. Excess electricity created by a generator can feed back onto electric lines and lead to severe injuries to line technicians. Additional generator safety information is available at duke-energy.com/outages/generators.

Record-high lake levels and associated flooding
Helene delivered historic rainfall across much of the Carolinas. Duke Energy manages its lakes as an integrated system and continues moving water through its river basins. Duke Energy's hydroelectric and dam operations are operating as expected.

Several of its lakes in the upper part of the Catawba-Wateree River Basin have already crested and are expected to slowly decline over the next several days. Other lakes may continue to rise and could lead to flooding.

Duke Energy urges people living in low-lying areas to use caution, stay informed and follow the directions of state and county emergency management. They should also watch for emergency notification messages on their mobile phones.

Real-time lake level information is available at duke-energy.com/lakes or by calling 800.829.LAKE (5253). Updates are also available through the Duke Energy Lake View mobile app, which is available from the App Store and Google Play.

Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. The company's electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke Energy is executing an ambitious clean energy transition, keeping reliability, affordability and accessibility at the forefront as the company works toward net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including expanded energy storage, renewables, natural gas and nuclear.

More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition.

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SOURCE Duke Energy