With Hurricane Ian’s imminent landfall expected along Florida’s west coast, Duke Energy is increasing the number of resources coming to Florida and urging customers to take steps to prepare for power outages.
“At Duke Energy, we do all we can to minimize the impact of storms and ensure the safety of our customers, communities and crews,” said Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida storm director. “We are actively monitoring Ian’s path, intensity and timing, and we’re bringing in additional resources from our Midwest territory and mutual assistance programs to restore power as conditions allow.”
Duke Energy is initially mobilizing nearly 10,000 lineworkers, tree professionals, damage assessment and support personnel to safe locations in its Florida service areas. They will be prepared to respond to outages once it is safe to do so.
Additional line workers and support personnel from Duke Energy’s service territories in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio will arrive throughout the day, along with help from mutual assistance organizations. Placing crews near areas that will likely be affected by this system allows for the quickest and safest response after a storm passes through.
Duke Energy meteorologists are continuing to track the storm and we will continue to make adjustments to those resources as the storm approaches.
In addition to making safety a priority, customers should also prepare for extended power outages. Despite extensive system improvements and rigorous tree trimming, strong winds, wind-blown debris and flooding can cause power outages. When outages occur, Duke Energy is committed to restoring power as safely and quickly as possible, while keeping customers informed throughout the process.
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.
As restoration begins, workers may not be visible in each impacted neighborhood, as the first priority is to repair large power lines and other infrastructure. Click here for information on how Duke Energy restores power.
