ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.,
July 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- Duke Energy Florida is preparing for Tropical Storm Elsa
and is urging customers to prepare as well.
Company meteorologists are tracking the storm and crews are
preparing to safely and quickly respond if the storm impacts Duke
Energy Florida's service area.
Tropical Storm Elsa could potentially strengthen and bring heavy
rainfall, strong winds and localized flooding to portions of the
company's service area.
Placing crews near areas that will likely be affected by this
system will allow for the most rapid response after a storm passes
through.
"Duke Energy is committed to restoring power as safely and
quickly as possible, while keeping customers informed throughout
the process," said Melissa Seixas Duke Energy Florida state
president. "We prepare year-round and continuously modernize
the grid to keep the lights on, but tropical weather events like
Elsa bring wind-blown debris and flooding that can cause outages.
We are prepared for those conditions and encourage our customers to
continue monitoring the storm."
In advance of the storm, Duke Energy will move power utility
crews and resources so they are staged in areas and ready to help
restore power as soon as it is safe to do so.
In addition, line technicians and workers are checking
equipment, supplies and inventories to ensure adequate materials
are available to make repairs and restore power outages.
Restoring power after a storm can be extremely challenging for
utility repair crews, as travel and work conditions can be impacted
by high winds, downed trees and flooding – making repair work
lengthy and difficult.
Before bulk power can be restored, crews 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.
Strengthening the grid
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 2020, smart, self-healing technology helped
to avoid nearly 290,000 extended outages in Florida, saving customers around 18.9 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. It's time
consuming, but Duke Energy crews now 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
Duke Energy has made changes to the way it responds to major
storms to promote the safety of crews and communities during
COVID-19. Many of those process modifications and improvements will
continue during the 2021 storm season. For more information, please
see dukeenergyupdates.com.
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. Although the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) has relaxed some of its guidance for
vaccinated individuals, an emergency kit should still include items
that can help protect you and others from COVID-19, such as hand
sanitizer, bar or liquid soap, and face coverings aligned with CDC
guidance.
- 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.
- If you need to go to a disaster shelter, follow CDC
recommendations for staying safe and healthy in a public disaster
shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns a diverse
generation mix of natural gas, coal and renewables, providing about
10,200 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 1.9
million customers in a 13,000-square-mile service area.
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 7.9 million customers in North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Florida, Indiana, Ohio
and Kentucky, and collectively own
51,000 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 27,500
people.
Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy strategy to
create a smarter energy future for its customers and communities –
with goals of at least a 50 percent carbon reduction by 2030 and
net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The company is a top U.S.
renewable energy provider, on track to operate or purchase 16,000
megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2025. The company also is
investing in major electric grid upgrades and expanded battery
storage, and exploring zero-emitting power generation technologies
such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.
Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2021 "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: Ana Gibbs
Cell: 813.928.7263
Media line: 800.559.3853
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SOURCE Duke Energy