CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Duke Energy has received the Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI) “Emergency Recovery Award” for the company’s outstanding power restoration efforts after Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina and South Carolina in September 2018.
The Emergency Recovery Award is given to select EEI member companies to recognize their extraordinary efforts to restore power to customers after service disruptions caused by severe weather conditions or other natural events.
The winners are chosen by a panel of judges following an international nomination process. Duke Energy received the award this week during EEI’s Winter Board and Chief Executives Meeting in Palm Beach, Fla.
“Hurricane Florence caused historic flooding along the Carolinas’ coastal communities and more than 1.8 million of our customers lost power,” said Harry Sideris, Duke Energy senior vice president and chief distribution officer.
“While flooding presented some unique challenges to our restoration efforts, we were able to restore power to nearly 1.2 million customers in the first three days after the storm made landfall. We are forever grateful for our customers’ patience and kindness during that time, and for our government partners and the dozens of utilities who worked alongside us to restore power and normalcy to our communities,” Sideris said.
“The dedication of Duke Energy’s crews to restore service throughout the Carolinas after Hurricane Florence illustrates our industry’s commitment to customers,” said EEI President Tom Kuhn. “Duke Energy’s crews worked tirelessly in hazardous conditions to quickly and safely restore power. They are truly deserving of this award.”
Duke Energy continues to learn from and improve its performance after every storm.
For example, after Hurricane Irma in 2017, the company developed a way to use geographic information system (GIS) technology to monitor changing road conditions to help crews reach power outage locations safely and quickly. (See related story: https://illumination.duke-energy.com/articles/this-technology-helped-crews-improve-hurricane-response)
The company also has improved communication with customers after major storms, updating them with proactive text messages and emails.
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