Duke Energy : crews restore power to more than 200,000 North Carolina customers following Hurricane Isaias

• 60,000 customers remained without power as of 6 p.m. today.

• Company expects to restore power to nearly all customers by late Wednesday.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Duke Energy crews today restored power to more than 200,000 North Carolina customers after Hurricane Isaias struck the state's coastal region overnight.

Thousands of Duke Energy power line technicians and other specialists from the Carolinas, Indiana and Ohio have been making repairs to damaged utility poles, power lines and other equipment since early this morning.

As of 6 p.m. today, 60,000 customers remained without power.

Duke Energy expects to restore power to nearly all customers by late Wednesday night, with some power outages continuing into Thursday in the hardest hit communities.

Estimated restoration times - once determined for specific areas - will be posted at duke-energy.com/outages/current-outages. If an estimated restoration time is not yet available for an area, customers will receive a time when the next restoration update for that area will be available.

Customers who are registered to receive Duke Energy text outage alerts will receive a text once an estimated restoration time is established for their location.

More than 60 percent of Duke Energy's 132,000 customers in the Wilmington, N.C., area (New Hanover County) lost power.

Other hard-hit counties included: Brunswick, Columbus, Craven, Duplin, Jones, Lenoir, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender and Pitt.

'I want to thank our customers for their patience and understanding as our crews work quickly and safely to restore power during his challenging time,' said Jason Hollifield, Duke Energy's Carolinas storm director. 'There is nothing routine about this storm response. Crews in the field are working carefully, under coronavirus-related safety guidelines, supported by many other teammates working virtually to deliver customer service, communications, supplies, logistics and all the essential work it takes to restore power to our customers.'

Power restoration process

Duke Energy focuses on restoring power in a sequence that enables power restoration to public health and safety facilities and to the greatest number of customers as safely and quickly as possible. Click here for information on how Duke Energy restores power.

Outage alerts, reporting power outages

Customers can sign up to receive outage alerts, ensuring they'll receive updates on power outages impacting their homes or businesses.

Important safety tips

• Maintain a plan to move family members - especially those with special needs - to a safe, alternative location in case an extended power outage occurs or evacuation is required. When checking on neighbors and friends, be sure to follow social distancing recommendations (staying at least 6 feet from others) and other CDC recommendations to protect yourself and others.

More tips on what to do before, during and after a storm can be found at duke-energy.com/safety-and-preparedness/storm-safety.

A checklist serves as a helpful guide, but it's critical before, during and after a storm to follow the instructions and warnings of emergency management officials in your area.

Tips to protect refrigerated food during power outages

For customers who lose power and have full refrigerators and freezers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends the following:

• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature.

• A refrigerator can keep food cold for about four hours if it is unopened. If the power will be out for more than four hours, use coolers to keep refrigerated food cold.

• A full freezer will keep the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed.

The FDA offers additional tips for proper food handling and storage before, during and after a power outage at www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-and-water-safety-during-power-outages-and-floods.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 29,000 people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts through its regulated utilities and 2,300 megawatts through its nonregulated Duke Energy Renewables unit.

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