Duke Energy Florida makes rapid progress; restores 98% of its customers 12 hours after Nicole exited the state

• As of noon, more than 287,000 customers restored in 12 hours
• Workforce of 5,000 helped speed restoration efforts

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Nov. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy Florida restored power to 98% of impacted customers within 12 hours of Nicole leaving the company's service territory.

As of noon, Duke Energy Florida has restored power to more than 287,000 customers, with less than 5,000 customers without power due to the storm.

With significant progress made yesterday, the company will have a greater concentration of crews in the areas still in need of repair. Power is expected to be restored to the remaining storm-related customers by 10 p.m. tonight.

Making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, Nicole was the first November hurricane to make landfall in Florida since 1985. Nicole exited Florida around 11 p.m. Thursday.

"While we did not anticipate a hurricane so late in the season, our team didn't hesitate to respond and support our customers," said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. "Nicole impacted a large portion of our territory and the incredible team effort helped us restore more than 287,000 customers within 12 hours and we will not stop until every customer is restored."

Ahead of the storm, Duke Energy Florida staged more than 5,000 workers in strategic locations throughout the state to respond. Crews from around the country helped speed restoration.

Along with additional crews, the company was helped by its recent improvements to the grid, minimizing outages and restoration times.

Customers who experience a power outage 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 800.228.8485.

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.

The company also will provide regular updates to customers and communities through emails, text messages, outbound phone calls, social media and its website.

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
Media line: 800.559.3853

SOURCE Duke Energy