- Company working to share updated restoration information
with remaining 420,000 customers without power, including those in
the hardest-hit communities
- 90% of customer outages in South
Carolina and North Carolina
will be restored Friday
- Crews have repaired more than 2 million power outages in the
Carolinas
Editor's note: Visit the Duke Energy News
Center for storm director videos, downloadable
B-roll and high-resolution images.
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 3, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- More than 21,000 workers continue to make progress
restoring power to Duke Energy customers in western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina
following Helene's catastrophic damage, though major challenges
remain.
The hurricane damaged a significant portion of the electric
system in the North Carolina
mountains and South Carolina
upstate including transmission towers, substations, utility poles,
power lines and other major equipment. In some areas where
power outages remain, floods have destroyed roads and bridges.
"We continue to work with a variety of stakeholders to get
critical assets – like our vehicles, workers, poles, transformers,
wire and more – to the areas where we are restoring power for our
customers," said Jason Hollifield,
Duke Energy's storm director for the Carolinas. "We know
partnerships and collaboration with local, state and federal
agencies are critical – and will continue to be – as we collaborate
with these communities to rebuild."
Power restoration update
Below is the latest storm restoration information by state as of
4 p.m. ET:
South Carolina
- In South Carolina, 219,000
customers in the Upstate remain out of power, as Duke Energy has
restored 826,000 customer outages. Customer restoration efforts
have benefitted from a crucial collaboration with the South
Carolina Department of Transportation, as Duke Energy crews made
significant progress as roads were cleared of significant storm
debris and other obstacles.
- We are on track to restore an additional 134,000 customers by
Friday evening, Oct. 4, with the
remaining 85,000 in the hardest-hit areas by Sunday, Oct. 6.
- We'll continue to communicate with customers via email, text
and outbound call as their site-specific details become available.
Customers can also visit dukeenergyupdates.com for the latest
updates on their outage.
North Carolina
- In North Carolina, 201,000
customers in the mountain region remain without power, as Duke
Energy has restored 1.1 million customer outages.
- We are on track to restore an additional 27,000 customers by
Friday evening, Oct. 4, with another
69,000 in the hardest-hit areas by Sunday,
Oct. 6.
- In the areas where catastrophic damage exists – homes can't
receive power, and total grid infrastructure damage and lack of
access exists – 105,000 customers are without power. We're working
closely with the state on plans to address these as quickly as
possible.
- We'll continue to communicate with customers via email, text
and outbound call as their site-specific details become available.
Customers can also visit dukeenergyupdates.com for the latest
updates on their outage.
"The North Carolina Department of Transportation is in constant
communication with Duke Energy and offering all available
assistance to restore power as quickly as possible," said
Joey Hopkins, secretary of the North
Carolina Department of Transportation. "Communities in western
North Carolina have been hit hard
and every day without electricity is difficult. Repairing damage to
the grid and restoring power is an urgent priority and we will
continue assisting Duke Energy with their efforts."
Added Hollifield, "Our thoughts are with those communities who
are still without power and other essential services. We're
committed to continuing safe restoration until everyone's power is
restored."
We encourage those looking to support restoration efforts to
join us in donating to American Red Cross or one of the many
community organizations responding to disaster recovery in the
Carolinas.
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.
24-Hour: 800.559.3853
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SOURCE Duke Energy