In the Carolinas, Duke Energy meteorologists keeping a close eye on Hurricane Matthew

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  • Storm's path shifting closer to the Carolinas

  • Response crews preparing to travel

  • Customers encouraged to prepare

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Duke Energy meteorologists continue to monitor the movement of Hurricane Matthew and are developing up-to-the minute forecasts to help the company plan and prepare for potential impacts.

"The latest models show a shift to the west, which puts the storm on a direct path with the North Carolina coast late Friday into early Saturday," said Nick Keener, Duke Energy's lead meteorologist. "It's still too early to determine the exact path of the storm, but based on today's information, we are asking our power restoration employees to prepare to travel later this week."

Duke Energy has a detailed storm response plan. As part of our preparation for Hurricane Matthew, we are checking equipment, supplies and inventories to ensure we have adequate materials to make repairs and restore power outages.

"Staffing plans are underway," said Bobby Simpson, Duke Energy's storm director for the Carolinas. "Crews across the Carolinas, Midwest and Florida are preparing and are ready to move to wherever the storm may affect our customers." 

Important Reminders

Prepare emergency kits -- Check your supplies and be sure to have the following items in an easy-to-find location:

  • Flashlights with extra batteries

  • Portable radio with fresh batteries

  • First-aid kit

  • Canned or packaged food that can be prepared without cooking or refrigeration

  • Several days' supply of drinking water

  • Portable (and fully charged) cell phone charger

  • Prescription medication

Charge all electronic devices -- Charge cell phones, computers and other electronic devices in advance of the storm to stay connected to important safety and response information.

Determine alternative plans -- Families who have special medical needs or elderly members should closely monitor weather forecasts and make plans for potential alternate arrangements should an extended outage occur.

Register for outage updates -- Customers can text OUT to 57801 to report an outage from their mobile phone. Be sure to use the mobile phone associated with your account. To stay informed of future power outages, sign up to receive power outage alerts from Duke Energy by texting REG to 57801 or choose from text, email or phone alerts by enrolling at duke-energy.com/OutageAlerts.

Know who to call -- Customers can report electrical emergencies such as downed lines and poles by calling Duke Energy's automated outage-reporting system for their specific service area:

  • Duke Energy Carolinas – 800-769-3766

  • Duke Energy Progress – 800-419-6356

Stay Connected -- Duke Energy offers a number of ways for customers to get information about outages and restoration efforts.

  • Online - www.duke-energy.com/outages. Customers can access outage maps and other information online from a computer or mobile device. Once on the map, customers can zoom in to their specific location and hover over the outage indicator nearest their home. A message box will appear showing total customers affected, status and an estimated time of restoration, if available:

  • Facebook -- www.facebook.com/duke.energy/

  • Twitter -- twitter.com/dukeenergy

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is an S&P 100 Stock Index company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com.