Duke Energy : crews restore power to 221,000 Ohio, Kentucky customers following severe storms; workers continue making progress with remaining power outages

• Local and out-of-state crews working around the clock to restore power to remaining 11,000 impacted customers.

• Company expects to restore power to all customers by 11:59 p.m. today, with many customers' power restored sooner.

CINCINNATI - Duke Energy today is continuing work to restore the 11,000 remaining customers without power in the Cincinnati region following Monday's damaging storms that caused the most significant power outage impacts to the company's Ohio and Kentucky service areas in more than a decade.

The areas most impacted by Monday's storm include Butler, Warren and Hamilton counties.

Duke Energy storm officials have established an estimated time of power restoration for 11:59 p.m. tonight for remaining outages, but many customers' power will be restored prior to that time.

As crews arrive and assess damage, updated restoration times will be added to Duke Energy's online outage map, which updates every 10 minutes.

Northern Kentucky customers have been restored as of 7 a.m. today.

Extra crews from Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and North Carolina arrived throughout the day on Tuesday to help speed up the assessment and restoration process. Lineworkers and vegetation crews are working in the region day and night.

"We moved swiftly to bring additional resources into the area, given the widespread and significant damage and this week's heat advisory," said Amy Spiller, president, Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky. "We greatly appreciate the assistance from neighboring crews and our customers' patience in the aftermath of this storm."

The storm damaged a large amount of electric transmission and distribution equipment, including substations, utility poles, power lines and other key system components - all of which need to be repaired before power can be restored to the remaining individual customers.

While 166,000 customers were simultaneously without power at the peak of the event Monday evening, crews have since restored power to more than 221,000 customers, in total.

The remaining outages often affect only a small number of customers, which increases the amount of time it takes for crews to assess and restore power to the many individual outage events.

Safety

• Please slow down or move over if you see Duke Energy crews or emergency management crews working along the side of the road. You can help make sure the folks working to restore power finish the job and get home to their families safely.

Avoid downed power lines

• Safety remains critically important during restoration efforts. Avoid downed power lines, they should be considered energized and dangerous.

• Stay away from downed or sagging power lines, and do not touch anything that is on or near a power line (i.e., tree limbs, cars, or ladders).

• Keep children and family pets away from areas where lines may have fallen (backyards, fields, etc.)

• Report all power line hazards to Duke Energy or your local emergency services department or agency.

Generator safety

• Always operate a generator in accordance with manufacturer's guidelines and instructions. Do not operate more appliances and equipment than the output rating of the generator.

• To avoid carbon monoxide poisoning, never use a generator indoors or in attached garages.Only operate the generator outdoors in a well-ventilated, dry area away from air intakes into the home.

• To avoid electrocution, plug individual appliances into the generator using heavy-duty, outdoor-rated cords with a wire gauge adequate for the appliance load.

• If connecting into the house wiring is necessary on a temporary basis, homes should have a transfer switch installed by a licensed electrician.

• Additional storm tips as well as current outage information is located on duke-energy.com/storm under the "Outage and Storm Information."

Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky

Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, provides electric service to 880,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in a 3,000-square-mile service area, and natural gas service to 550,000 customers in a 2,650-square-mile service area, in Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 28,000 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business and at least a 50% carbon reduction from electric generation by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The 2050 net-zero goals also include Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 emissions. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2022 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "America's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Media contact: Sally Thelen
Office: 513.287.2432
Media line: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DE_SallyT