“We’re continuing to deploy every available resource to move this work forward steadily and safely,” said E. O. Ferrell, senior vice president of electric distribution for Duke Power.  “We are particularly grateful for the patience and support of our customers – for both our local crews and those that have come a good distance to help us out.”

“Throughout the day on Thursday we continued to have something of a see-saw effect with our progress as branches, trees and wires continued to respond to freezing, thawing and refreezing,” said Ferrell. “We ended the day with more than a million of our customers still without electrical service, but we’re optimistic that our growing resources and improved weather will combine to everyone’s advantage.”

Ferrell pointed out that customers who have gone some time without power may forget about appliances and other electrical devices that were left on when power service was interrupted. “From a safety standpoint we’re emphasizing to our customers that now is a good time to double-check everything in their home or business and ensure that it won’t be turned on and left on unattended when power is restored.”

Power outages and downed power lines should be reported using the 1-800-POWERON (1-800-769-3766) telephone line. If a customer has reported an outage, it isn’t necessary to call again unless the customer’s power remains off when a neighbors’ power is restored.

Major areas affected as of 5:00 a.m. are:

WE WILL BE PROVIDING UPDATES ON OUR MEDIA OUTAGE UPDATE LINE AT 704-382-8333 ON THE FOLLOWING SCHEDULE:

11 a.m.

4:30 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

Duke Power, a business unit of Duke Energy, is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities and provides safe, reliable, competitively priced electricity to approximately two million customers in North Carolina and South Carolina. Duke Power operates three nuclear generating stations, eight coal-fired stations, 31 hydroelectric stations and numerous combustion turbine units. Total system generating capability is approximately 19,300 megawatts. More information about Duke Power is available on the Internet at: www.dukepower.com.

Duke Energy is a diversified multinational energy company with an integrated network of energy assets and expertise. The company manages a dynamic portfolio of natural gas and electric supply, delivery and trading businesses – meeting the energy needs of customers throughout North America and in key markets around the world. Duke Energy, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: www.duke-energy.com.

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