Duke Energy continues with power restoration; nearly 198,000 customers restored following Hurricane Helene’s landfall

Approximately 8,000 workers responding to outages

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Sept. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Duke Energy Florida is continuing with power restoration following Hurricane Helene’s landfall. As of 7:30 a.m., the company’s 8,000 workers have restored power for nearly 198,000 customers, while over 402,000 are still experiencing outages.

“Our crews worked through the night to assess the immense damage caused by Hurricane Helene and get the lights back on where conditions allowed,” said Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida storm director. “We’ve made significant progress over the last 24 hours, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us. We thank our customers for their patience, support and ongoing commitment to safety.”

Duke Energy focuses on restoring power as safely and quickly as possible and in a sequence that begins with public health and safety facilities, while also considering how to impact the greatest number of customers.

The company also offers the following safety guidance for customers now that the storm has passed:

Stay away from downed power lines and areas that may be hiding lines, such as floodwater and debris.
Look for damage that may prevent your power from being restored and have a licensed electrician make repairs if needed.
Disconnect or turn off any nonessential electrical equipment that may start automatically when power is restored to avoid overloading circuits.
Only operate a generator outside and connect appliances directly to it.
Do not wire your generator directly to your breaker fuse box, as it could backfeed on power lines.
If you use a generator, please watch for utility crews and turn the generator off when crews are in your area. The electrical load on the power lines can be hazardous for crews making repairs.

To report an outage, text OUT to 57801, call 800.228.8485 or report online or through the Duke Energy mobile app.

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

SOURCE Duke Energy