Total of 3,700 personnel aiding Duke Energy power restoration efforts

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy has 3,700 personnel responding to an ice storm that hit the Carolinas Friday.

"We are tripling our line resources in the hardest-hit areas, including personnel from our Florida and Midwest areas," said Jeff Corbett, senior vice president of Duke Energy's Carolinas Delivery Operations. "With the storm passing, we are leaning on the combined strength of our Duke Energy team to restore power as safely and quickly as possible. We also have commitments from neighboring utilities for additional assistance."

As of 6 p.m. the company is reporting 349,000 outages. Most of these outages are in the Triad area of North Carolina. Overall, about 583,000 customers have been affected.

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

Hardest-hit areas include: Alamance, Davidson, Forsythe, Guilford, Orange, Randolph and Rowan counties.

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

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

Safety

Stay away from power lines that have fallen or are sagging or buried under debris due to storm damage. Consider all lines energized, as well as trees or limbs in contact with lines. If a power line falls across a car that you're in, stay in the car. If you MUST get out of the car due to a fire or other immediate life-threatening situation, do your best to jump clear of the car and land on both feet. Be sure that no part of your body is touching the car when your feet touch the ground.

Restoring power

Restoring power after an ice storm can be challenging as travel conditions are poor. Before power can be restored, crews first assess damage and determine what crews, equipment and supplies will be needed to make repairs. Because of this, customers may see damage assessors patrolling their neighborhoods before crews arrive to begin work.

Crews prioritize work to ensure the largest number of customers is restored as quickly as possible. Essential services such as hospitals and emergency responders have priority.

If you lose power, please turn off as many appliances and electronics as possible. This will help with restoration efforts as it will reduce the immediate demand on the power lines when power is restored.

Once your power is restored, wait a few minutes before turning your equipment back on.

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