Duke Energy urges customers in Florida to prepare for potential impacts from Subtropical Storm Nicole

• Impacts may be felt broadly across the company's service area
• Line and tree crews ready to respond to outages

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Nov. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy is closely monitoring the approach of Subtropical Storm Nicole and preparing for potential impacts on Florida in the coming days. The company urges customers to prepare as well.

Company meteorologists are tracking the storm, which has the potential to bring damaging winds, heavy rain and localized flooding to portions of the company's service area throughout Florida.

Duke Energy prepares for storms throughout the year and has ensured that equipment, supplies and inventories in all areas that could be impacted by this storm are available to make necessary repairs and restore power outages.

The company has crews and resources located strategically throughout Florida – near areas that will likely be affected – to respond quickly and safely once the storm passes. If additional assistance is needed, Duke Energy will be able to draw on other resources from its service territories in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and the Carolinas.

"As witnessed with Hurricane Ian, Duke Energy Florida is committed to restoring power as safely and quickly as possible," said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. "Should outages occur, our crews and contractors are ready to respond."

Line technicians and workers locally are checking equipment, supplies and inventories to ensure adequate materials are available to make repairs and restore power outages.

While the storm is forecast to be weaker than Hurricane Ian, forecasts still show the potential for strong winds and heavy rain that could result in significant power outages throughout many parts of Florida. Crews will begin power restoration as soon as conditions are safe to do so. After the storm passes, downed trees and flooding can impact work conditions, making repair work more difficult.

Strengthening the grid to reduce storm impacts

In addition to trimming trees and upgrading wires and wood poles, the company has invested in smart technologies and remote restoration capabilities to help reduce the duration and number of outages and restore service faster when outages occur.

Duke Energy's smart, self-healing technology can automatically detect outages and quickly reroute power to speed restoration or avoid outages altogether. During Hurricane Ian, self-healing technology helped to automatically restore more than 160,000 customer outages and saved nearly 3.3 million hours (nearly 200 million minutes) of total lost outage time. Duke Energy currently serves around 59% of customers in Florida with self-healing capabilities on its main power distribution lines, with a goal of serving around 80% over the next few years.

Safety information

The safety of our customers and communities is important. Duke Energy encourages customers to have a plan in place to respond to an extended power outage after a hurricane or other severe weather. Below are some tips:

Before the storm

• Create (or update) an emergency supply kit to save valuable time later. The kit should include everything an individual or family would need for at least two weeks, especially medicines, water, nonperishable foods and other supplies that might be hard to find after a storm hits.
• Keep a portable radio or TV or a NOAA weather radio on hand to monitor weather forecasts and important information from state and local officials.
• Charge mobile phones, computers and other electronic devices in advance of storms to stay connected to important safety and response information. Consider purchasing portable chargers and make sure they are fully charged as well.
• 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.

After the storm

• Stay away from power lines that have fallen or are sagging. Consider all lines energized, as well as trees, limbs or anything in contact with lines.
• If a power line falls across a car that you are in, stay in the car. If you MUST get out of the car due to a fire or other immediate life-threatening situation, do your best to jump clear of the car and land on both feet. Be sure that no part of your body is touching the car when your feet touch the ground.

For more tips on how to prepare for storm season, and how Duke Energy can help, please visit duke-energy.com/StormTips.

For storm or power restoration updates, follow Duke Energy on Twitter (@DukeEnergy) and Facebook (Duke Energy). 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.

Outage reporting

Before a storm hits, customers should make sure their contact information is up to date and their communication preferences are noted in their account so they can receive proactive updates from Duke Energy on the status of a power outage.

Customers who experience an outage during a storm can report it the following ways:

• Visit duke-energy.com on a desktop computer or mobile device.
• Use the Duke Energy mobile app – Download the Duke Energy App from a smartphone via Apple Store or Google Play.
• Text OUT to 57801 (standard text and data charges may apply).
• Call the automated outage reporting system at 800.POWERON (800.769.3766).
• Customer service specialists will be available to manage customer calls should the need arise, with additional corporate responders from across all Duke Energy jurisdictions available to assist as needed.

There is also an interactive outage map where customers can find up-to-date information on power outages, including the total number of outages systemwide and estimated times of restoration.

Duke Energy Florida

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 10,300 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.

Duke Energy 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 by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. 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' "World'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: Ana Gibbs                                                           
Cell: 813.928.7263
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SOURCE Duke Energy