ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.,
Oct. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke
Energy today said it would provide flexible bill payment
arrangements to customers experiencing financial hardship due to
Hurricane Michael.
In addition, the company will waive late-payment charges for up
to two months for customers who experienced significant property
damage.
The company also will hold bills for certain customers in the
hardest-hit counties to allow those customers to focus on more
immediate concerns.
"Many of our customers were impacted by Hurricane Michael and
will experience financial difficulty in the days, weeks and
possibly months ahead. We encourage affected customers to call us
so we can offer flexible payment arrangements to assist them during
this time of need," said Lesley
Quick, Duke Energy's vice president of revenue services.
Customers who need assistance or have questions can call Duke
Energy at the following numbers:
- Residential customers – 800.700.8744
- Business customers – 877.372.8477
The company recently awarded almost $350,000 to relief organizations in Florida, and also is matching donations,
dollar-for-dollar, from Duke Energy employees.
Today, 3,000 repair workers continue to restore power to Duke
Energy customers on the Florida
Panhandle. About 10,000 customers remained without power as
of 1 p.m.
Customers can view an online map that provides the most current
estimated power restoration times:
https://www.dukeenergyupdates.com/michael/florida/florida-restoration-timeline
Below is the latest power restoration information, by
geographical zone.
- Zone 1 – Taylor,
Madison, Hamilton, Suwannee, Lafayette, Dixie and Gilchrist counties: Power has been
restored to all customers whose properties can receive power.
- Zone 2 – Jefferson and
Leon counties: Power has been
restored to all customers whose properties can receive power.
- Zone 3A – Wakulla
County: Power has been restored to all customers whose
properties can receive power.
- Zone 3B – Franklin County communities of Carrabelle, Lanark
Village, Panacea and
Alligator Point: Power has
been restored to all customers whose properties can receive
power.
- Zone 3C – Franklin County
communities of St. George Island,
Eastpoint and Apalachicola: The majority of customers
whose properties can receive power will have service restored no
later than 11:59 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 17. Visit
https://www.duke-energy.com/outages for details.
- Zone 4 – Communities in this zone are located
where the center of the hurricane made landfall, causing massive
destruction. The majority of Gulf
County customers whose properties can receive power,
except for those in St. Joe Beach,
can expect to have service restored by 11:59
p.m., Thursday, Oct. 18.
Duke Energy currently is unable to provide an estimated power
restoration time for Bay
County and Dog
Island. The company is working hard to determine that
information as soon as possible. Many parts of this area are
difficult to access or totally inaccessible. Some areas will
require extensive reconstruction of the electric system.
Visit https://www.duke-energy.com/outages for details.
More information
- Estimated power restoration times apply to customers whose
homes and businesses did not experience flooding or other damage
that might prevent electric service restoration – due to safety
reasons.
- Locations impacted by flooding or other damage might require
repairs by a licensed electrician and/or inspection by local
officials before electric service can be restored.
- Damaged meter boxes are one example. Though Duke Energy owns
the actual meter at each customer's home or business, the customer
owns the meter box in which the meter is mounted. The company
cannot restore power to a location whose meter box is damaged, for
safety reasons.
- For storm or power restoration updates, visit
https://www.dukeenergyupdates.com/michael/florida – or follow Duke
Energy on Twitter (@DukeEnergy) and Facebook (Duke Energy).
- Latest damage photos –
https://news.duke-energy.com/multimedia-gallery/photos/hurricane-michael-florida
24-Hour: 800.559.3853
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SOURCE Duke Energy