Duke Energy crews restore 687,000 customers; command center planned for Pinellas County barrier islands

• Majority of Duke Energy Florida's customers will be restored by 11:59 p.m. tonight
• Electrical rebuild required in some areas; some homes, businesses cannot receive power

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Sept. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As of 3 p.m. ET today, Duke Energy Florida's crews restored power for 687,000 customers, while 73,000 continue to experience outages as a result of Hurricane Helene.

Our 8,000 crews continue working diligently to repair damage from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene and restoring power to those who can receive it. We anticipate restoring power to 95% of Duke Energy Florida's territory that is able to receive power by 11:59 p.m. tonight, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024.

Due to the substantial impact to the barrier islands in Pinellas County, we are working quickly to assemble a centralized command center in Madeira Beach. A restoration task team will be on-site to begin the process of replacing equipment and rebuilding parts of the electric grid and repairing sections that remain structurally sound.

Crews will continue energizing portions of the barrier islands that can receive power. However, many customers experienced significant damage to personal property. The damage sustained by these homes and businesses makes some structures unsafe to energize.

"With the significant impact to the barrier islands in Pinellas County, we will be rebuilding together alongside the communities we serve," said Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida storm director. "We are committed to powering the vitality of our neighborhoods as quickly as possible and we will continue to closely coordinate with our local communities."

We will keep our customers informed throughout the rebuilding process with adjusted estimated times for restoration and periodic updates on our progress. Texts and email updates will be provided to residents as well. We ask Duke Energy customers to update their phone numbers and email addresses to ensure they receive up-to-date information about restoration efforts.

A dedicated webpage will be established to provide the latest information on the Pinellas County barrier islands. The most up-to-date information about restoration efforts can be accessed on Duke Energy's Outage Map or by enrolling in Outage Alerts.

Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 12,300 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 2 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.  

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. 

Contact: Ana Gibbs
24-Hour: 800.559.3853 

SOURCE Duke Energy