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More than 32,000 remain without power
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Majority of customers expected to be restored by 11:59 p.m. Friday
CINCINNATI – Wednesday’s powerful storms ripped through the tristate, bringing down power lines, poles and other critical electrical infrastructure. At the height of the storm, more than 80,000 customers were without power. Crews have responded quickly and as of 5 p.m. today, 32,000 customers remain without power; nearly 245,000 customers have been restored since the storm began.
The company expects to restore the majority of customers by 11:59 p.m. Friday; however, many customers will be restored before this time. There will be some customers that may need to complete repairs to their homes and have inspections completed, before we can make final restoration for them.
“We know that this is an extremely challenging time, and that extended power outages can cause added stress,” said Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky President Amy Spiller. “We worked overnight to restore service to hospitals, fire and police departments, and other critical facilities. We have an army of resources responding to speed power restoration and thank our customers for their patience while we restore their power.”
There is widespread damage across the service territory, with over 40 distribution and 7 transmission utility poles broken during the storm. Unfortunately, these types of repairs take multiple crews and many manpower hours to complete and rehang the new line. Trees have been toppled and many came down on our utility lines.
Customers experiencing a power outage can report their outage to us in multiple ways – by phone at 800.543.5599, Duke Energy’s mobile app, online through through the company’s website or by texting their outage to 57801.
The company is cautioning the public to avoid fallen power lines and assume they are energized. Do not touch a power line or anything in contact with it and keep others away until help arrives.
“These are unusual times, and for everyone’s safety in this period of social distancing, we ask the public to please not approach our crews in the field but allow them to focus on their work,” Spiller said. “Please call us instead with any questions you have.”
Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky
Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, provides electric service to about 860,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in a 3,000-square-mile service area, and natural gas service to approximately 538,000 customers.
Duke Energy is transforming its customers’ experience, modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy future for the people and communities it serves. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure unit’s regulated utilities serve approximately 7.7 million retail electric customers in six states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure unit distributes natural gas to more than 1.6 million customers in five states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The Duke Energy Renewables unit operates wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S., as well as energy storage and microgrid projects.
Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2020 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list, and Forbes’ 2019 “America’s Best Employers” list. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos, videos and other materials. 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: Sally Thelen
Office: 513.287.2432 | 24-Hour: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DE_SallyT