Duke Energy Corporation

07/07/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/07/2022 11:30

Duke Energy crews restore power to 80,000 Ohio, Kentucky customers following severe storm; workers continue making progress with remaining power outages

  • More than 1,000 local and out-of-state resources are working around the clock to restore power to the remaining 31,000 impacted customers.

  • Company expects to have estimated times of restoration for these customers later this afternoon.

CINCINNATI - Duke Energy is continuing work to restore the approximately 31,000 remaining customers without power in the Cincinnati region following Thursday's damaging storms that caused approximately 104,000 power outages at the height of the storm to the company's Ohio and Kentucky service areas.

Extra crews from Duke Energy's Indiana service territory and contractors from a neighboring utility arrived this morning to help speed up the assessment and restoration process. Lineworkers and vegetation crews are working in the region day and night.

Storm-related damage is extensive with a number of trees and branches on power lines, broken power poles and other infrastructure damage. In addition, some of the outages involve individual or small numbers of customers. In those cases, crews have to move from house to house to make repairs and restore power.

"We greatly appreciate the assistance from our Indiana crews and our customers' patience following the impact of this devastating storm," said Amy Spiller, president, Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky. "Downed trees are complicating restoration efforts, even for those customers who may not have trees down on their street or in their neighborhood. More than 1,000 line technicians and vegetation crews are working around the clock to get every customer who can receive power restored."

The areas most impacted include Clermont and Hamilton counties in Ohio and Campbell and Kenton counties in Kentucky. In Northern Kentucky, 25,000 customers have been restored as of 11 a.m. today.

As crews arrive and assess damage, updated restoration times will be added later today to Duke Energy's online outage map, which updates every 10 minutes.

Power restoration process

In addition to making repairs, Duke Energy crews are surveying the extent of damage. Damage assessment is an important part of the power restoration process as it helps determine where the company will deploy its workers, equipment and other resources.

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. Click here for information on how Duke Energy restores power.

Important safety tips

Cooling centers are open in recreation centers in most Cincinnati-area locations.

Please slow down or move over if you see Duke Energy crews or emergency management crews working along the side of the road. You can help make sure the folks working to restore power finish the job and get home to their families safely.

Safety remains critically important during restoration efforts. Avoid downed power lines, they should be considered energized and dangerous. Stay away from downed or sagging power lines, and do not touch anything that is on or near a power line (i.e., tree limbs, cars, or ladders). Downed lines should be reported to 800.543.5599.

More tips on what to do before, during and after a storm can be found at duke-energy.com/safety-and-preparedness/storm-safety.

Generator safety

Always operate a generator in accordance with manufacturer's guidelines and instructions. Do not operate more appliances and equipment than the output rating of the generator.

To avoid carbon monoxide poisoning, never use a generator indoors or in attached garages.Only operate the generator outdoors in a well-ventilated, dry area away from air intakes into the home.

Additional storm tips as well as current outage information is located on duke-energy.com/storm under the "Outage and Storm Information."

Keeping customers informed

Duke Energy will provide estimated power restoration times for specific counties - once those estimates have been determined - at duke-energy.com/outages/current-outages.

Customers who are registered for Duke Energy text alerts will receive a text once an estimated restoration time is established for their location. (Sign up to receive outage alerts.)

Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky

Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, provides electric service to 880,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in a 3,000-square-mile service area, and natural gas service to 550,000 customers in a 2,650-square-mile service area, in Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke Energy (NYSE: 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 and at least a 50% carbon reduction from electric generation by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The 2050 net-zero goals also include Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 emissions. 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' "America'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.

Contact: Sally Thelen
Office: 513.287.2432
24-Hour: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DE_SallyT