- Majority of Duke Energy Florida's customers will be restored
by 11:59 p.m. tonight
- Electrical rebuild required in some areas; some homes,
businesses cannot receive power
ST.
PETERSBURG, Fla., Sept. 29,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As of 3
p.m. ET today, Duke Energy Florida's crews restored power
for 687,000 customers, while 73,000 continue to experience outages
as a result of Hurricane Helene.
Our 8,000 crews continue working diligently to repair damage
from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene and restoring
power to those who can receive it. We anticipate restoring power to
95% of Duke Energy Florida's territory that is able to receive
power by 11:59 p.m. tonight,
Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024.
Due to the substantial impact to the barrier islands in
Pinellas County, we are working
quickly to assemble a centralized command center in Madeira Beach. A restoration task team will be
on-site to begin the process of replacing equipment and rebuilding
parts of the electric grid and repairing sections that remain
structurally sound.
Crews will continue energizing portions of the barrier islands
that can receive power. However, many customers experienced
significant damage to personal property. The damage sustained by
these homes and businesses makes some structures unsafe to
energize.
"With the significant impact to the barrier islands in
Pinellas County, we will be
rebuilding together alongside the communities we serve," said
Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida
storm director. "We are committed to powering the vitality of our
neighborhoods as quickly as possible and we will continue to
closely coordinate with our local communities."
We will keep our customers informed throughout the rebuilding
process with adjusted estimated times for restoration and periodic
updates on our progress. Texts and email updates will be provided
to residents as well. We ask Duke Energy customers to update their
phone numbers and email addresses to ensure they receive up-to-date
information about restoration efforts.
A dedicated webpage will be established to provide the latest
information on the Pinellas County
barrier islands. The most up-to-date information about restoration
efforts can be accessed on Duke Energy's Outage Map or by
enrolling in Outage Alerts.
Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary
of Duke Energy, owns 12,300 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying
electricity to 2 million residential, commercial and industrial
customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in
Florida.
Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150
company headquartered in Charlotte,
N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies.
The company's electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in
North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio
and Kentucky, and collectively own
54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities
serve 1.7 million customers in North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.
Duke Energy is executing an ambitious clean energy transition,
keeping reliability, affordability and accessibility at the
forefront as the company works toward net-zero methane emissions
from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions
from electricity generation by 2050. The company is investing in
major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including
expanded energy storage, renewables, natural gas and
nuclear.
More information is available at duke-energy.com and the
Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy
on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for
stories about the people and innovations powering our energy
transition.
Contact: Ana Gibbs
24-Hour: 800.559.3853
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SOURCE Duke Energy