CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Duke Energy, the nation's largest electric utility, today deployed 1,000 additional workers to help other utilities in eight states restore power to more than 6 million homes and businesses in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Duke Energy's storm team now totals 2,700 employees and contractors working long hours in difficult conditions in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio.
Among those Duke Energy deployed to New York City today are 20 network services technicians who specialize in repairing major underground power systems such as those damaged by floodwaters in Manhattan.
"This is the largest out-of-state deployment in our company's history," said Lloyd Yates, Duke Energy's executive vice president for customer operations. "Duke Energy greatly appreciates the dedication of its workers who are serving others in dire need, as well as the commitment of its workers who remain in their home states, serving Duke Energy's own customers."
The workers dispatched today are based in six southeast and Midwest states served by Duke Energy: North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.
Art Tucker, a Charlotte-based Duke Energy line worker who departed Tuesday for a power restoration assignment in Reading, Pa., said he and his teammates look forward to the work ahead.
"Everyone on this team is 110% committed to getting the lights back on and helping out the storm victims as much as we can," he said. "It's what we do best."
Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the United States with more than $100 billion in total assets. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 7.1 million electric customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest. Its commercial power and international business segments own and operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio of renewable energy assets in the United States.
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: http://www.duke-energy.com/.