Duke Energy restores 90% of Carolinas customers capable of receiving power following Helene

• More than 1 million customers restored in South Carolina
• More than 1.3 million customers restored in North Carolina
• Severity and scale of damage unprecedented

Editor's note: Visit the Duke Energy News Center for storm director videos, downloadable B-roll and high-resolution images.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy restored power to 90% of Carolinas customers able to receive power following Helene and will continue working until all customers are restored. The company says it could be days before it completes restoration work for all customers capable of receiving service, especially in the hardest-hit areas.

As of 4 p.m. ET, fewer than 105,000 customers in South Carolina remain without power, but many will be restored by the end of the weekend. Approximately 141,000 customer outages remain in the mountains of North Carolina. Duke Energy will continue to update estimated times of restoration for customers who remain without power and will communicate updates directly with customers.

The company's strategy over the past week has been to prioritize the restoration of the backbone of its system, which can be compared to the interstate highways and interchanges of the power grid. As the backbone work is completed, Duke Energy is moving personnel to work on the power grid's thousands of miles of lines and poles that serve individual homes and businesses. This work can feel slower because the same amount of work restores fewer customers.

"As more of our workers move into the areas hardest hit by Helene, they're encountering more severe damage on a larger scale than we've ever experienced," said Jason Hollifield, Duke Energy storm director in the Carolinas. "Restoring this unprecedented damage is requiring an unprecedented amount of equipment, people and time. We set aggressive restoration goals and have more restoration crews in these regions than ever before, working night and day to restore service to our customers."

Information on estimated restoration times is continually updated on Duke Energy's Outage Maps tool. Customers also can enroll in Outage Alerts to get information about area outages and restoration efforts via text message, voice message or email. 

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.

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SOURCE Duke Energy