Duke Energy Spokesperson Discusses Winter Storm Power Outages and Restoration Efforts

Winter Storm Impact and Outage Numbers

• ⚡ Duke Energy is working to restore power to millions of customers affected by a deadly winter storm.
• 💡 Initially, lighter than expected outages occurred due to sleet, but a second wave of freezing rain caused a significant spike, particularly west of Charlotte and in the upstate of South Carolina.
• ⚠️ At its peak, over 50,000 customers were out of power in the hardest-hit mountain and upstate South Carolina areas.

Restoration Efforts and Crew Mobilization

• 🛠️ Crews are working in challenging geography and ice conditions to restore power, with today being a particularly tough day.
• 🤝 Mutual aid agreements were crucial, enabling Duke Energy to secure crews from over 40 states, along with internal resources from Florida.
• 🗺️ Damage modeling was used to strategically position these external crews in North and South Carolina.

Lingering Threats and Future Outages

• 🧊 Even after the storm passes, ice accumulation on power lines can continue to cause outages due to the weight of ice on tree limbs.
• 🌳 Areas with significant vegetation, especially in the mountains, remain at higher risk of new outages as limbs break.
• ⏳ Restoration for the remaining less than 50,000 customers is expected to take at least a couple more tough days, with over 800 individual outage locations needing repair.