Understanding Outage Notifications during major storms

After a major storm or other event where damage is significant, our damage assessors survey the hardest-hit areas and gather information for our repair crews in advance. This process helps ensure the assigned crew has all the materials they need to complete repairs efficiently once they arrive onsite. These assessors also help us determine where to dispatch our resources based on the level of damage in each county. This important role helps us provide better initial estimated times of restoration so our customers can plan accordingly.

After the weather clears from a major storm, it can take up to 24 hours to fully assess all the downed wires, broken poles and other equipment in need of repair or replacement. We use a combination of historical data, algorithmic tools and boots-on-the-ground to determine when we hope to have 90% of all customers back on. We adjust those estimates as our crews work. Sometimes the revised times are sooner than expected, but occasionally we run into additional damage or other problems that require us to move estimates later.

Our initial estimates are an indication of when we expect to have nearly all of the service back on in your area. Many customers will be back on much sooner than that. When we’ve had a chance to assess individual outages closer to you, your estimate may be adjusted. It’s also possible that there is other damage, further away, that we must repair in order to get power to your neighborhood.

We strategically place crews in areas where they can be quickly dispatched to repair outages. Sometimes we also bring in crews from other parts of the state or from out of state to assist local crews. Crews in staging areas may waiting for a work assignment, sheltering when work conditions are not safe, preparing equipment to go into the field, or taking a required rest period or meal break after traveling or working in the field.

When repairs are made to a large outage affecting thousands of customers, that repair is considered “completed” in our system, which automatically triggers an alert to all affected customers. There may, however, still be a smaller problem that requires repair before power can be restored to your home. If your power is still out when you receive a “repairs completed” notice, simply reply OFF to let us know your power is still out. This will help us isolate the piece of equipment still in need of repair and get your power restored.

We work to methodically restore as many customers as possible with each repair following a major storm or outage event. That often means working on main lines first, and then moving into neighborhoods or side streets. In many cases, the problem causing your outage is not in your neighborhood, so your service might come back on without your ever seeing a truck. Another reason could be that there is additional damage to other power lines that supply your area, which must be repaired first before repairs in your neighborhood will make a difference. If you have reported your outage and you see it identified on the outage map, rest assured we have not forgotten about you.

It is not uncommon for neighborhoods to be supplied by different power lines entering from different directions. When this situation occurs, your home is likely fed by another substation, circuit, or transformer that is experiencing an outage.

Sometimes, depending on where the damage occurred, power supply can be rerouted to other lines and your power restored automatically using self-healing and remote restoration technology. But if damage occurs close to your home, or if there are not additional options nearby to reroute power, those capabilities may not be available. Every storm is unique in that damage may not happen in the same location or to the same equipment.

The information available on the outage map or in your alerts is often the same information our call center specialists have. We work hard to provide you with the latest information as it is available and will share updates through restoration alerts and on our website.

We maintain more than 100,000 miles of power lines and placing all of those lines underground would not be feasible when factoring in the costs it would incur on customer bills. Instead, we are using advanced data to identify the most outage-prone line segments and place those lines underground. Elevation changes, geological characteristics, and susceptibility to flooding can all be factors that prevent undergrounding from consistently being implemented as a practical solution. We are making a variety of improvements across our system to help prevent outages and restore power faster for customers. Targeted undergrounding of lines is just one of those improvements.

This is temporary and will correct itself. Once it corrects, it will reflect 0 kWh usage during the period you were out. This happens because the system automatically fills in gaps with historical data until accurate data is obtained.

Common causes are ongoing conditions that result in additional outages. Also, even after your line is repaired, crews may have to take a temporary outage to repair other lines or to make a temporary repair permanent to restore all customers.

The frequency of outage alerts and notifications may lessen after you receive your initial estimated time of restoration, but you have not been forgotten. If your outage appears on the outage map, there is no advantage to reporting multiple times.

Power lines near your home or business may be underground, but larger lines that supply power to your neighborhood or town are likely overhead. If the cause of your outage indicates vegetation, its due to one of those primary lines being compromised by a fallen tree or limb.

Customers who "cannot receive power" are typically faced with damage to the property’s meter base, breaker panel, or customer-owned electrical wiring. Duke Energy is unable to restore power to those individual properties until customer repairs are complete and, in many instances, inspections are conducted.