ST.
PETERSBURG, Fla., Sept. 28,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As of 5
p.m. ET today, Duke Energy Florida's crews restored power
for over 600,000 customers, while nearly 150,000 continue to
experience outages as a result of Hurricane Helene.
Our workforce is more than 8,000 strong, with many working
through the night to get everyone's power back on. (Click here and
here for aerial saw video.)
This afternoon, the company established estimated times of
restoration for the company's Big Bend and North Florida counties for 11:59 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. Approximately
95% of these customers are expected to be restored, though many
will be restored sooner.
With these latest estimated times, the majority of customers in
Duke Energy Florida's territory will be restored by tomorrow.
However, coastal areas of Pinellas
County experienced significant damage from storm surge and
strong wind. Many of the barrier islands and areas along Gulf
Boulevard will require a rebuild and will take longer to energize.
Additionally, due to the damage to homes and businesses, some
structures will not be able to receive power.
"We are closely collaborating with our communities in areas
devastated by this historic storm," said Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida storm
director. "We understand that we provide an essential service, and
it can be frustrating to be without power. We appreciated your
patience and support during this challenging time."
Reasons why you may not receive power by the expected
time
We do our best to ensure our estimates are as accurate as
possible, but we occasionally must adjust those times as we uncover
additional damage or problems with access.
Sometimes, customers may see a neighbor's lights come back on
while they are still without power. A few explanations:
- Parts of the neighborhood may be served by different circuits,
and not all circuits come back at the same time.
- There may also be a problem with their individual service line
or their meter.
If the meter box is pulled away from a customer's house or
mobile home service pole and power is not being received, the
homeowner is responsible for contacting an electrician to reattach
the meter box and/or provide a permanent fix. In some instances, an
electrical inspection may be required by the county before Duke
Energy can reconnect service. An electrician can advise customers
on next steps.
For rooftop solar owners, solar panels don't guarantee power
during an outage since they operate partly using energy from Duke
Energy's grid. Two exceptions are installing an off-grid solar
system or installing a method of energy storage, such as
batteries.
Outages can be reported online, through the Duke Energy mobile
app, by texting OUT to 57801 or by calling 800.228.8485.
The most up-to-date information about restoration efforts can be
accessed on Duke Energy's Outage Map or by enrolling
in Outage Alerts.
For more information and resources, please visit
dukeenergyupdates.com/Florida.
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