Duke Energy urges customers to prepare for hurricane season

Duke Energy, which serves the Southeast and Midwest United States, urged its customers last week to prepare for hurricane season, which began June 1.

“An important part of being safe is being prepared,” Harry Sideris, Duke Energy state president – Florida, said. “We prepare for storms every day of the year and we want to help our customers get ready now so
they can react quickly during a storm.”

The company has invested over $5 billion since 2004 in maintaining and reinforcing its power delivery systems in Florida and the Carolinas through measures such as trimming trees, inspecting and replacing wood poles and installing grid automation and smart grid technologies.

Duke recently announced a 10-year, $13 billion initiative in the Carolinas, which includes grid-hardening efforts such as moving some overhead facilities that are regularly affected by vegetation below ground and retrofitting approximately 400,000 transformers with new technology to prevent animal interference and lightning strikes.

Duke Energy has held dozens of storm preparation sessions and downed power line demonstrations over the last two years. Duke Energy and its staff of meteorologists continually monitor weather conditions.

The company offered several tips for storm preparation including creating an emergency supply with at least two weeks worth of medicines and other supplies, maintaining a supply of water and non-perishable food, ensuring insurance policies are up to date and keeping a portable radio, TV or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radio accessible to monitor weather forecasts and official information.

Duke also recommended creating a plan for getting all family members to a safe, alternate location in case an extended power outage occurs or evacuation becomes necessary.

“We have seen the devastation a hurricane can cause in the Carolinas with Hurricane Matthew last year,” Tim Tripp, Duke Energy’s Carolinas storm director and vice president of engineering and technical customer relations, said. “While we can’t control the weather, we do prepare for storms every day of the year. We urge our customers to get ready now so they can react quickly during a storm, hurricane or severe weather.”