“Our crews continue to make progress in spite of difficult circumstances, including extensive damage across North and South Carolina,” said E.O. Ferrell, senior vice president of electric distribution for Duke Power. “The work can be slow and time consuming, but our crews are focused on getting the job done as quickly and safely as possible.”   

Weather conditions forecast for Tuesday include rain, moderate winds and low temperatures. The company is monitoring these conditions for any impacts to restoration activities. Improving weather is expected on Wednesday.

“Our customers have been very patient while our crews work to repair service,” Ferrell said. “We sincerely appreciate their support and help.”

This ice storm is by far the most devastating in Duke Power’s history in terms of number of people affected. The more than 1.3 million outages from the December 5 ice storm are almost twice the number of outages from previous benchmarks: The ice storm of February 1996 affected 660,000 customers, and just under 700,000 customers were out of service during Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

In the 1996 ice storm, it took 10 days to restore the 660,000 customers who lost power. In this ice storm, the Duke Power crews matched that restoration number in only three days.

Reminders:

If your power remains off when a neighbor’s power is back on, the company advises you to call 1-800-POWERON (1/800-769-3766).

The line offers options for Spanish speaking customers. (Si su casa sigue sin servicio eléctrico y sus vecinos ya tienen electricidad, favor de llamar al teléfono de Duke Power, 1-800-POWERON (1-800-943-6914). Nuestras operadoras pueden atenderle en español.)

Customers are cautioned to make sure their meter box has not been damaged. If the meter box is damaged or pulled away from the building, customers need to contact a licensed electrician for repairs and their local county inspection office for an inspection.   

Outage numbers will continue to fluctuate as line workers have to disconnect some services to test lines or make additional repairs further down the line.

Major areas affected as of 4:30 a.m.:

* These numbers do not reflect outages in all areas of the Duke Power service territory. The company projects 90 percent of the outages will be restored by midnightWednesday, Dec. 11.  Restoration may be longer for customers with individual service or equipment problems.

ESTIMATED TIMES OF RESTORATION

Please Note: A majority of customers will have their electric service restored by the times listed below. However Estimated Time Of Restoration (to the 90 percent restored level) may be longer for customers with individual service or equipment problems. Information will be updated as work progresses.

TUESDAY, DEC. 10: WE WILL UPDATE RESTORATION NUMBERS AT: 

4:30 p.m.

YOU CAN CALL OUR MEDIA OUTAGE LINE AT 704/382-8333 FOR UPDATES. PLEASE PRESS OPTION 1. THIS OPTION WILL ALSO ALLOW YOU TO REACH A REPRESENTATIVE FOR INTERVIEW.

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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