- Duke Energy meteorologists continue to monitor the storm
- Company making preparations
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.,
Sept. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke
Energy Florida is preparing for Tropical Storm Ian and is urging
customers to prepare as well.
Company meteorologists are tracking the storm, which has the
potential to strengthen and bring heavy rainfall, strong winds and
localized flooding to portions of the company's service area.
In advance of the storm, Duke Energy places crews and resources
near areas that will likely be affected by the system, allowing for
the most rapid response after a storm passes through.
"Restoring power as safely and quickly as possible, while
keeping our customers informed, remains our top priority," said
Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida
state president. "We want customers to know that our team is ready
to respond to Ian or any other storm that could pose a threat to
our electric system."
Line technicians and workers are checking equipment, supplies
and inventories to ensure adequate materials are available to make
repairs and restore power outages.
After the storm passes, continued high winds, downed trees and
flooding can impact work conditions, making repair work lengthy and
more difficult.
As restoration begins, workers may not be visible in each
impacted neighborhood, as the first priority is to repair large
power lines and other infrastructure that will return power to the
greatest number of customers as safely, quickly and efficiently as
possible.
Strengthening the grid to reduce storm impacts
In addition to trimming trees and inspecting and replacing wires
and wood poles, the company has invested in grid automation and
smart technologies to reduce the duration and number of outages and
restore service faster when outages occur.
Duke Energy's smart-thinking grid automatically detects outages
and intelligently reroutes power to speed restoration or avoid
outages altogether. In 2021, smart, self-healing technology helped
to avoid nearly 250,000 extended outages in Florida, saving customers around 17 million
minutes of service interruption, nearly double the hours saved in
2019. Over the next few years, Duke Energy expects to install
enough self-healing technology to serve most customers.
After a storm, Duke Energy crews must physically inspect miles
of power line to ensure everyone's power is restored, which can be
time consuming. Now, Duke Energy crews can use a technology called
Ping-it to remotely check that service has been restored following
repairs. Ping-it sends a signal to each meter in a few seconds to
confirm repairs were successful. In Florida, Duke Energy has installed nearly 2
million smart meters that enable this technology.
Safety information
The safety of our customers and communities is important. Duke
Energy encourages customers to have a plan in place to respond to
an extended power outage after a hurricane or other severe weather.
Below are some tips:
Before the storm
- Create (or update) an emergency supply kit to save valuable
time later. The kit should include everything an individual or
family would need for at least two weeks, especially medicines,
water, non-perishable foods and other supplies that might be hard
to find after a storm hits.
- Keep a portable radio or TV or a NOAA weather radio on hand to
monitor weather forecasts and important information from state and
local officials.
- Charge cellphones, computers and other electronic devices in
advance of storms to stay connected to important safety and
response information. Consider purchasing portable chargers and
make sure they are fully charged as well.
- Maintain a plan to move family members – especially those with
special needs – to a safe, alternative location in case an extended
power outage occurs, or evacuation is required.
- Pet owners should arrange to stay at evacuation shelters that
accept pets; friends' or family members' homes; or pet-friendly
hotels.
After the storm
- Stay away from power lines that have fallen or are sagging.
Consider all lines energized, as well as trees, limbs or anything
in contact with lines.
- If a power line falls across a car that you are in, stay in the
car. If you MUST get out of the car due to a fire or other
immediate life-threatening situation, do your best to jump clear of
the car and land on both feet. Be sure that no part of your body is
touching the car when your feet touch the ground.
For more tips on how to prepare for storm season, and how Duke
Energy can help, please visit duke-energy.com/StormTips.
For storm or power restoration updates, follow Duke Energy on
Twitter (@DukeEnergy) and Facebook (Duke Energy). 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.
Outage reporting
While residents of coastal areas are most at risk of being
affected by hurricanes, such storms also can bring damaging high
winds and rain inland. Before the storm hits, customers should
contact us to make sure their contact information is up to date and
their communication preferences are noted, so they receive
proactive outreach on the status on a power outage they may
experience.
Customers who experience an outage during a storm can report it
the following ways:
- Visit duke-energy.com on a desktop computer or mobile
device.
- Use the Duke Energy mobile app – Download the Duke Energy App
from a smartphone via Apple Store or Google Play.
- Text OUT to 57801 (standard text and data charges may
apply).
- Call the automated outage-reporting system, at:
800.228.8485.
- Customer service specialists will be available to manage
customer calls should the need arise, with more than 1,500
additional corporate responders from across all Duke Energy
jurisdictions available to assist as needed.
There is also an interactive outage map where customers can find
up-to-date information on power outages, including the total number
of outages systemwide and estimated times of restoration.
Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 10,300
megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.9 million
residential, commercial and industrial customers across a
13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.
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: Audrey Stasko
Cell: 315.877.3031
Media line: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DE_AudreyS
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SOURCE Duke Energy