- More than 70% of Duke Energy Florida customers now benefit
from smart, self-healing technologies
- Duke Energy Florida encourages customers to have a plan in
place
ST.
PETERSBURG, Fla., June 5, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Resiliency is the ability to recover quickly
from a disruption, and Duke Energy Florida has been preparing ahead
of the start of hurricane season to respond quickly and restore
power faster when the next storm strikes.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration predicts an above-normal hurricane season with
17 to 25 named storms this season, including 8 to 13 hurricanes,
and 4 to 7 of those becoming major hurricanes. This year's forecast
predicts around 30% more storm activity compared to the number of
storms predicted last year.
The company has a comprehensive and flexible storm response
plan, built upon decades of experience and improvement. Advanced
forecasting and damage modeling processes help the company to place
crews, support resources and equipment strategically ahead of a
storm to respond quickly as outages occur.
Duke Energy Florida maintains an electric army of nearly 4,000
employees and contractors ready to respond to outages when storms
strike. And alliances with peer utilities provide additional
resources to shorten response times and get communities back on
their feet faster.
Building a stronger, more resilient power grid
Thanks to its Storm Protection Plan and the company's year-round
infrastructure work, Duke Energy Florida is making improvements and
upgrades to its systems and lines to support the rapid growth of
our Florida communities, enhance
its storm response and provide better information when outages do
occur.
Some of these improvements include upgrading thousands of poles
and wires to increase reliability and better withstand storms,
strategically placing outage-prone lines underground in some areas,
managing trees and vegetation, and installing smart, self-healing
technology that can automatically detect power outages and quickly
restore power when an outage occurs.
- During hurricanes Ian, Nicole and Idalia, self-heling
technology helped save more than 200 million outage minutes for
Duke Energy Florida customers. More than 70% of Duke Energy Florida
customers benefit from self-healing and automated restoration
technologies.
- The company plans to install hundreds of miles of underground
cable in areas that are identified as the most outage-prone lines.
Approximately 48% of Duke Energy Florida's primary power lines are
underground and better protected from wind damage.
- Teams have completed more than 4,000 miles of maintenance
trimming on Duke Energy Florida's distribution lines and 600 miles
of planned work on the transmission side.
- Over the past three year, more than 40,000 poles have been
hardened through the Storm Protection Plan.
- Additionally, the company is expanding capacity of the electric
grid by building new substations, expanding existing substations
and installing new or larger circuits to provide reliable service
in the growing state. Duke Energy has completed optimization of
eight substations, with another 38 in flight in Florida.
These investments are already benefitting Florida customers. In 2023, the company had
its best reliability performance in more than a decade. Between
2018 and 2023, the company reduced the average length of a customer
outage by 27%.
Personal preparedness is key to a more resilient home or
business
Duke Energy Florida encourages its customers to prepare for
potential hurricanes and other severe storms and to have a plan to
increase their personal resiliency following a major storm. Below
are some recommended safety 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. Visit Ready.gov for more helpful tips
as you develop your emergency plan.
- Have a plan in place to move family members – especially those
with special needs – to a safe, alternate location if an extended
power outage occurs.
- Charge cellphones, computers and other electronic devices in
advance of storms to stay connected to important safety and
response information. And make sure all portable chargers are fully
charged. Consider purchasing a portable radio to monitor weather
and get updates.
- Download the Red Cross Emergency app to stay connected to
tips ahead of the storm and response activities as communities
recover.
During the storm
- If an outage occurs, disconnect or turn off any nonessential
electrical equipment that may start automatically when power is
restored to avoid overloading circuits.
- Do not open freezers or refrigerators more than necessary.
Opening can cause food to thaw more quickly.
After the storm
- Stay away from downed power lines and areas that may be
hiding lines, such as floodwater and debris. Consider all lines
energized, as well as trees, limbs or anything in contact with
lines. Report downed lines to Duke Energy.
- Only operate generators outside and follow manufacturer's
instructions.
- 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 another
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
touches the car when your feet touch the ground.
- If you must travel right after a storm, never drive across
downed power lines and always move over or slow down when passing
utility crews working along the side of the road.
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).
Outage reporting
Customers who experience an outage during a storm can report it
the following ways:
- Text OUT to 57801 (standard text and data charges may
apply).
- Use the Duke Energy mobile app – Download the Duke Energy App
from a smartphone via the Apple Store or Google Play.
- Visit duke-energy.com on a desktop computer or mobile
device.
- Call 800.228.8485.
- Customers can find more at duke-energy.com/storm.
Customer service specialists also will be available to manage
customer calls should the need arise, with more than 1,500
additional corporate responders from across all Duke Energy
jurisdictions available to assist as needed.
Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 12,300
megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 2 million
residential, commercial and industrial customers across a
13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.
Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in
Charlotte, N.C., is one of
America's largest energy holding companies. The company's electric
utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio
and Kentucky, and collectively own
54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities
serve 1.7 million customers in North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.
Duke Energy is executing an ambitious clean energy transition,
keeping reliability, affordability and accessibility at the
forefront as the company works toward net-zero methane emissions
from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions
from electricity generation by 2050. The company is investing in
major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including
expanded energy storage, renewables, natural gas and nuclear.
More information is available at duke-energy.com and the
Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy
on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook,
and visit illumination for stories about the people and
innovations powering our energy transition.
Contact: Audrey Stasko
Media line: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DE_AudreyS
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SOURCE Duke Energy