Duke Energy crews have restored power to more than 131,000 customers in the Carolinas following winter storm Fern. As of 2 p.m. on Monday, January 26, approximately 22,000 customers remained without electricity. The company expects most outages caused by the storm to be resolved by the end of the day, though some areas with significant damage—particularly along the Blue Ridge escarpment in locations such as Hendersonville, Travelers Rest, and Clemson—may not see service restored until Tuesday.
Rick Canavan, Duke Energy’s storm director, stated: “Our crews are working to restore most outages tonight. We are seeing isolated areas with more extensive equipment damage along the Blue Ridge escarpment in places like Hendersonville, Travelers Rest and Clemson, so it is possible that some customers in those areas may not have service restored until Tuesday.” He also warned customers about a scam text message targeting utility users: “I also want to warn customers about a scam text message that is circulating and targeting utility customers. The message mentions outages and includes a link. That message is not from Duke Energy; please avoid clicking on the link.” Canavan added: “Thank you for your patience and cooperation as crews continue their work.”
The company serves around 4.7 million electric customers in North Carolina and South Carolina—3.8 million in North Carolina and nearly 860,000 in South Carolina.
With colder-than-normal temperatures expected to persist through the week, Duke Energy is advising customers who have had their power restored to take steps to manage energy use and reduce potential increases in heating bills. Recommendations include setting thermostats at the lowest comfortable temperature, checking air filters for efficiency, opening blinds during sunny days for natural warmth while closing them at night to retain heat, and running ceiling fans clockwise to push warm air downward. Additional tips can be found at duke-energy.com/WinterEnergySavings.
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is one of the largest electric power holding companies in the United States. Its utilities provide electricity to approximately 8.6 million customers across six states—North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky—and collectively own 55,100 megawatts of generation capacity. Its natural gas businesses serve 1.7 million customers across five states.
The company continues its transition toward cleaner energy sources while prioritizing reliability and value for its customers through investments in grid upgrades and new generation resources such as natural gas, nuclear power, renewables and energy storage.
More information is available at duke-energy.com or via Duke Energy’s news center.
