Duke Energy crews continue to focus on Carolinas' hardest-hit regions; nearly 750,000 customers restored in past 24 hours

• Company continues to move additional repair crews into areas with outages
• More than 95% of customers will be restored by tomorrow night
• Estimated restoration times will be posted to the map today at duke-energy.com/outages/current-outages

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy crews continue to make progress following Hurricane Ian, restoring power to nearly 750,000 customers in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Nearly 1 million customers lost power during the storm. As of 5:00 p.m., 178,500 customers – most of them in North Carolina – remained without power. The latest outage numbers can be found here.

More than 95% of customers will be restored by Sunday night, with the remainder by Monday.

Power line technicians and specialists from the Carolinas, other states and Canada have been assessing damage and restoring outages since Friday night. Duke Energy restores power in a sequence starting with public health and safety facilities and equipment that restores the greatest number of customers.

Estimated restoration times will be posted to the map today at duke-energy.com/outages/current-outages.

Customers who are registered to receive Duke Energy text outage alerts will receive a text once an estimated restoration time is established for their location.

Duke Energy mobilized thousands of crews early Saturday to respond to the hardest-hit areas in and around Wake and Guilford counties. Significant structural damage hindered progress early on.

Hardest hit areas continue to be Chatham, Guilford, Orange, Stokes.

"We know our customers depend on us for the power they need to live their lives," said Jason Hollifield, Duke Energy's Carolinas storm director. "We are committed to completing this restoration as quickly and safely as possible."

Power restoration process

Click here for more information on how Duke Energy restores power.

Customers who experience a power outage can report it the following ways:

• Text OUT to 57801 (standard text and data charges may apply).
• Visit duke-energy.com on a desktop computer or mobile device.
• Use the Duke Energy mobile app (download the Duke Energy app on your smartphone via Apple Store or Google Play).
• Call Duke Energy's automated outage-reporting system: 800.769.3766 (800.POWERON).

More tips on what to do before, during and after a storm can be found at duke-energy.com/safety-and-preparedness/storm-safety.

A checklist serves as a helpful guide, but it's critical before, during and after a storm to follow the instructions and warnings of emergency management officials in your area.

Tips to protect refrigerated food during power outages

For customers who lose power and have full refrigerators and freezers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends the following:

• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature.
• A refrigerator can keep food cold for about four hours if it is unopened. If the power will be out for more than four hours, use coolers to keep refrigerated food cold.
• A full freezer will keep the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed.

The FDA offers additional tips for proper food handling and storage before, during and after a power outage at www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-and-water-safety-during-power-outages-and-floods.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 28,000 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business and at least a 50% carbon reduction from electric generation by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The 2050 net-zero goals also include Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 emissions. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2022 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "America's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Media contact: Jeff Brooks (Carolinas Media inquiries)
Media line: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DE_JeffB

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SOURCE Duke Energy