Duke Energy has restored power to more than 131,000 customers in the Carolinas following Winter Storm Fern. As of 2 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26, nearly 22,000 customers remained without electricity, with most outages expected to be resolved by the end of the day. However, some areas hardest hit by the storm may experience extended outages into Tuesday due to road conditions that are hindering repair crews.
The majority of restoration efforts have focused on North Carolina and South Carolina, where Duke Energy serves about 3.8 million and 860,000 electric customers respectively. Outage figures show that in North Carolina, over 93,600 customers had service restored while about 10,500 remained without power. In South Carolina, approximately 37,450 restorations were completed with around 11,400 still affected.
Rick Canavan, Duke Energy storm director, said: “Our crews are on track to restore most outages by tonight. We’re seeing isolated pockets of more extensive equipment damage along the Blue Ridge Escarpment – in places like Hendersonville, Travelers Rest and Clemson – so some customers in those areas may not have service restored until Tuesday.” He also warned about a scam targeting utility customers: “I also want to make customers aware of a text message scam that’s circulating and targeting utility customers. It mentions rolling outages and includes a link. That message did not come from Duke Energy; please avoid clicking the link.” Canavan thanked customers for their patience as work continues.
With colder-than-normal temperatures leading to increased energy use as heating systems run longer hours, Duke Energy offered several tips for managing energy consumption. Customers are advised to set thermostats to the lowest comfortable setting and check air filters for efficient system operation. Opening blinds during sunny days can help warm homes naturally; closing them at night helps retain heat. Running ceiling fans clockwise can also push warm air down into living spaces.
Additional information about energy-saving measures is available at duke-energy.com/WinterEnergySavings.
Duke Energy is one of America’s largest energy holding companies and operates across six states with electric utilities serving approximately 8.6 million customers and natural gas utilities serving about 1.7 million customers. The company continues investing in grid upgrades and cleaner generation sources such as natural gas, nuclear power, renewables and energy storage.
More details can be found on the company’s website or its social media channels.
