Duke Energy to complete all ice storm-related outages today; preparations under way to address new outages that may result from today's high winds

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) will complete its restoration efforts by late tonight for customers in Alamance, Guilford and Randolph counties.

A few outages may extend beyond tonight for customers with damaged meter boxes that have not been repaired or need electrical inspections.

More than 400,000 customers across the state lost power last week after the third largest ice storm hit the Carolinas. Customer outages peaked at 414,000 on Friday.

"We continue to be overwhelmed by our customers' support for our crews the past five days," said Jeff Corbett, senior vice president of Duke Energy's Carolinas Delivery Operations. "The amount of damage across some of the hardest hit communities required workers to virtually untangle power lines, equipment and trees to rebuild our distribution system.

"This work is difficult and, at times, slow, and we appreciate our customers' understanding and patience as we've completed the restoration," he said.

More than 4,400 resources have supported restoration efforts, including personnel from the company's Midwest and Florida operations and neighboring utilities.

As of 9 a.m., more than 819,000 customer outages have been restored.

"As the final restorations are made today, we will begin moving Duke Energy crews back to their home locations across the state in preparation for possible outages from high winds forecasted to hit the Carolinas this afternoon," said Corbett.

Meter-box damage
Customers who have damaged meter boxes should get them repaired now to avoid delays in restoration. A video explaining meter-box damage is available at http://youtu.be/q_Qq7dzz1vQ.

If a customer's meter box is pulled away from the house and the house is without power, the homeowner is responsible for contacting an electrician for a permanent fix. An electrical inspection may be required before the company can reconnect service.

If the meter box is pulled away from the house and the house still has power, the customer should call an electrician to re-attach the meter box.

For the most up-to-date information on power outages, Duke Energy offers a map online at www.duke-energy.com/storm. The map includes the number of outages across the state and estimated times of restoration.

Customers who experience an outage should call Duke Energy's automated outage-reporting systems for their respective utility:

• Duke Energy Carolinas: 1-800-POWERON (1-800-769-3766)
• Duke Energy Progress: 1-800-419-6356

Updates are also provided on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DukeEnergyStorm and www.facebook.com/DukeEnergyStorm.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at: www.duke-energy.com. 

24-hour media line: 800.559.3853

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SOURCE Duke Energy