Working to tame the storm
Few people think about electricity — until it goes out.
And no one is better equipped to restore power than Duke Energy line workers. In fall 2012, Superstorm Sandy ripped through the northern and mid-Atlantic states, leaving millions in the dark — but only minor damage to the company’s own territories.
Coming to the aid of other utilities, almost 3,000 Duke Energy employees and contractors worked to restore power in eight states. It was our largest response ever to a storm outside of the company’s service area.
We won some new friends, too. One morning in Dover, N.J., employees found sticky notes attached to 50 Duke Energy trucks in a staging area — with messages like “Thanks for the help. Love, Jersey.”
Closer to home, Duke Energy has worked to reduce the duration of outages caused by storms and lessen their impact on our own customers.
So we’re ready for what nature has in store, the company’s meteorologists provide critical information about the size, scope and severity of storms headed for Duke Energy’s service areas — from Indiana blizzards to Florida hurricanes.
When a strong wind system ripped through the company’s Midwest territory in June 2012, Duke Energy set up temporary staging areas near the hardest-hit locations, making it more convenient for crews to work in remote areas and have supplies for repairs nearby.
We quickly moved Duke Energy workers from the Carolinas. And, as in the past, we drew on assistance from utilities in 10 states through the Southeastern Electric Exchange and the Great Lakes Mutual Assistance Group — giving us emergency access to help from 25 of our peer companies.
In Ohio, the company has been installing smart grid technologies for the past three years. During the 2012 storm, we were able to tell which electric meters were inactive — enabling line crews to respond faster to those without power.
Duke Energy will never be able to eliminate storms or all outages. But through better information, improved work processes and sharing of personnel, we can move more quickly to get the lights back on.