03/27/2024
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CHARLOTTE – Duke Energy urges its North Carolina and South Carolina customers to monitor and prepare for Hurricane Dorian – now a category 5 storm currently expected to impact the region Wednesday through Friday.

“Hurricane Dorian is bringing strong winds and heavy rains that could result in downed power lines and significant outages,” said Jason Hollifield, Duke Energy’s incident commander for the Carolinas. “Our line technicians, call center reps and other personnel are gearing up to respond, and we encourage our customers to prepare as well.”

Duke Energy crews are ready to respond as soon as the storm passes through the region and line technicians and other workers can safely begin repairs to restore electricity.

Restoring power after a storm can be extremely challenging for utility repair crews, as travel and work conditions can be impacted by high winds and widespread flooding – making repair work lengthy and difficult.

As part of power restoration, Duke Energy teams first must assess the extent of damage – which can take 24 hours or more – to determine which crews, equipment and supplies will be needed before repairs can begin.

Duke Energy also urges customers to follow instructions and warnings issued by local emergency management officials before, during and after a storm.

Safety recommendations

Stay away from fallen or sagging power lines, and keep children and pets away from power lines as well. Consider all power lines – as well as trees, limbs or anything in contact with power lines – energized and dangerous.

Report all power line hazards using the following phone numbers:
800-769-3766 for Duke Energy Carolinas customers.
800-419-6356 for Duke Energy Progress customers.

If a power line falls across a car that you’re 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.

How to report power outages

Before the storm hits, customers should note how to report power outages. Customers who experience an outage during the storm can report it by:

Visiting duke-energy.com on a desktop computer or mobile device

Texting OUT to 57801 (standard text and data charges may apply)

Calling the automated outage-reporting system at 800-769-3766 for Duke Energy Carolinas customers and 800-419-6356 for Duke Energy Progress customers.

For storm or power restoration updates, follow Duke Energy on Twitter (@DukeEnergy) and Facebook (Duke Energy).

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