CINCINNATI - As of 7 p.m. this evening, Duke Energy reported about 40,000 outages in the company's Ohio and Kentucky service territories after a summer squall line rolled through the area.
Crews will be working through the evening and overnight to make repairs and restore power.
"Some areas took a hard blow from this strong storm," said Howard Fowler, Duke Energy's Midwest Storm Coordinator. "We're concentrating our efforts on assessing damage and working to restore power in these hard-hit areas."
The Ohio outages total just under 35,000, with Hamilton and Clermont counties being the hardest hit.
In Kentucky, outages total about 8,000, with Kenton and Campbell counties being the hardest hit.
"Our crews will work as quickly and safely as possible to complete restorations," said Fowler. "Depending on the number of outages and the amount of damage sustained, we know from past storms some customers may experience multi-day outages."
"I cannot stress enough the importance of being prepared and having a plan in place now in the event your power goes off," he said. "We appreciate our customers and their advanced preparedness and patience as we work to complete repairs."
In some cases, a customer might experience more than one outage during the storm. Through tomorrow, continued adverse weather is likely to cause additional outages. Customers should still contact the company to report new outages.
Fowler thanked customers for their patience and urged caution during the current inclement weather.
"If you have to be on the road, please give Duke Energy crews and other emergency responders plenty of room. We want them to be safe while they work," added Fowler.
Customers who experience an outage should call Duke Energy's automated outage-reporting system:
- Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky: 800.543.5599
Customers may also report an outage or view current outages online at www.duke-energy.com/storms
Estimated power restoration times will be available on Duke Energys online outage maps, when those estimated times become available.
Safety
Stay away from power lines that have fallen or are sagging. Consider all power lines energized, as well as trees or limbs in contact with lines.
If a power line falls across a vehicle that you're in, stay in the vehicle.
If you must exit the vehicle due to fire or another immediate life-threatening situation, do your best to jump clear of the vehicle and land on both feet. Be sure that no part of your body is touching the vehicle when your feet touch the ground.
Restoring power
Restoring power after a storm can be challenging. Before power can be restored, crews first assess damage and determine which crews, equipment and supplies will be needed to make repairs. Because of this, customers may see Duke Energy damage assessors patrolling their neighborhoods before company repair crews arrive to begin the actual work.
Crews prioritize work to ensure the largest number of customers are restored as quickly as possible. Essential locations such as hospitals and emergency response facilities have priority.
If you lose power, please turn off as many appliances and electronics as possible. This will help with restoration efforts as it will reduce the immediate demand on the power lines when power is restored.
Once your power is restored, wait a few minutes before turning equipment back on.
- PDF - http://www.duke-energy.com/pdfs/how-duke-energy-restores-power.pdf
- Animation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQu_8vt65Do
Updates will be provided on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DukeEnergyStorm and www.facebook.com/DukeEnergyStorm.
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at: www.duke-energy.com.