CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the
weekend, Duke Energy crews have reduced the number of customer
outages caused by Hurricane Matthew from roughly 1.4 million to
fewer than 60,000 – a company record pace for restorations in
similar storms.
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
flood waters in the hardest hit communities might not drop below
flood stage for nine days.
Power restoration crews will be unable to access electrical
lines and equipment until flood waters recede.
Those areas include: Clinton,
Goldsboro, Kinston and Lumberton in North
Carolina; and Florence,
Hartsville and Marion in South
Carolina.
"We share our customers' frustration and are grateful for their
understanding," said Bobby Simpson,
who is overseeing Duke Energy's restoration efforts. "We have the
personnel, equipment and desire to bring everyone back on, but the
hard reality is there are still areas that are literally under
water. Water and electricity simply don't mix."
Simpson noted reports that some customers have tried to
reconnect their own power, and he strongly urged against it.
"Please do not let this deadly storm take any more lives," he
said. "The minute the water recedes, and it's safe for us to
physically access those areas with our equipment, we'll be
there."
At its peak, 680,000 Duke Energy customers were without power
Sunday morning, Oct. 9.
In terms of outages, Hurricane Matthew is the fifth-worst storm
to hit the combined Duke Energy Carolinas/Duke Energy Progress
service area – with damage similar in scale and severity to past
storms such as Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and Hurricane Hugo in
1989.
Meter-box damage
Customers whose homes have damaged meter boxes will need to get
them repaired and inspected to avoid delays in restoration. Here's
a video explaining meter-box damage.
If a customer's meter box is pulled away from the house, and the
house is without power, the homeowner is responsible for contacting
an electrician for a permanent fix. An electrical inspection may be
required before Duke Energy can reconnect service.
If the meter box is pulled away from the house and the house
still has power, the customer should call an electrician to
re-attach the meter box.
If your residence or business is flooded, a local building
inspector may need to inspect the structure before power can be
reconnected.
Safety
Duke Energy urges everyone to be safe during this challenging
time. Please follow these important tips:
- Anyone encountering electrical equipment after a storm, whether
it is a downed power line, a substation or a solar site, should
take extreme caution and assume that the equipment is energized --
especially do not go near electrical equipment when it is immersed
in standing water.
- Power lines can be hidden by debris and standing water so
please be extremely careful moving around in damaged or flooded
areas.
- "Move Over and Slow Down" Law: The "move over" law requires
drivers to move over one lane when two or more lanes are available
in each direction to make way for emergency responders, tow trucks,
DOT incident management assistance patrols and roadside work crews,
such as utility crews. On roads with only one traffic lane in each
direction, drivers must slow down and be prepared to stop.
Violators could face fines.
Flooding and H.F. Lee Plant update
Ash basin dams at the company's Carolinas' facilities are
operating safely and have not been affected by historic floods
brought by Hurricane Matthew.
Flooding continues to subside near the retired Weatherspoon
Plant in Lumberton, N.C. We expect
to complete minor maintenance on the cooling pond dam following
this high water event.
The Neuse River near the H.F. Lee Plant in Goldsboro, N.C., reached its record level at
the plant yesterday morning, and is declining. A break in the
cooling pond dam wall that occurred mid-day yesterday continues to
release water from the cooling pond to the river. The event has
caused very minimal impact to the already flooded river level.
Engineers are finalizing a repair plan, and the company is
positioning materials on plant property so crews can safely proceed
with work once flooding subsides.
The company is monitoring conditions, and state regulators
continue to support operations at both plants.
A diagram and photos are available here.
About Duke Energy
Duke Energy, one of the largest electric power holding companies
in the United States, supplies and
delivers electricity to approximately 7.4 million customers in the
Southeast and Midwest, representing a population of approximately
24 million people. The company also distributes natural gas to more
than 1.5 million customers in the Carolinas, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Its commercial and international
businesses operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing renewable
energy portfolio.
Headquartered in Charlotte,
N.C., Duke Energy is an S&P 100 Stock Index company
traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More
information about the company is available at
duke-energy.com.
The Duke Energy News Center serves as a multimedia resource for
journalists and features news releases, helpful links, photos and
videos. Hosted by Duke Energy, illumination is an online
destination for stories about remarkable people, innovations, and
community and environmental topics. It also offers glimpses into
the past and insights into the future of energy.
Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and
Facebook.
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SOURCE Duke Energy