Staff Reports
Duke Energy says it’s preparing to handle hurricane season despite the extra challenges posed by the new coronavirus pandemic.
Recent weather in Duke’s operating area has given the utility some practice on how to protect employees by maintaining social distancing while making sure power outages are attended to quickly.
“We’ve experienced several spring storms across our service areas the past two months and we’ve learned a lot about social distancing and keeping people safe. We’ll be applying those lessons on a broader scale should our service areas experience any major storms this hurricane season,” said Harry Sideris, senior vice president of customer experience and services.
The company said it’s taking several steps to protect employees from exposure, such as eliminating processes that involve paper transfers among crews; coordinating crews remotely; and using screening processes at staging sites.
“Now more than ever, our customers are depending on us for the essential energy they need to power their homes and workplaces, which in many cases are one and the same,” Sideris said.
“We recognize that even brief outages in this pandemic are no longer simple inconveniences but disruptions, so it’s important that we, along with our customers, plan now for any impacts a major storm may create.”
Though Duke is confident it will be able to reconnect power swiftly, it implored customers to have a plan in place in the event of a hurricane and prolonged power outage.
The company recommends households pack a hurricane kit with at least two weeks of supplies, including items that haven’t been on the list in past hurricane seasons such as masks and hand sanitizer.
If an outage hits, Duke customers can file a report via the company’s website, mobile app, by texting OUT to 57801, or by calling 1-800-228-8485.
Duke has taken several actions since the coronavirus gained a foothold in the Southeast, most recently by issuing $1 million in grants to bolster COVID-19 response efforts in communities across Florida.
