(Update: As of noon Wednesday, 11,000 Duke customers were without power and the aim was to have all power restored as of midnight Wednesday.)
Duke Energy continues to restore power to nearly 57,000 customers after powerful storms with high winds broke numerous utility poles and brought down trees and power lines as it moved through southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky Monday evening.
Time of full restoration is by midnight Wednesday.
Crews worked overnight and through the day Tuesday to restore power to more than 135,000 customers.
Duke Energy is bringing in crews from Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and North Carolina to supplement local crews.
The areas most impacted include Butler, Warren and Hamilton counties. Wind gusts throughout the region during the storm were reported between 70 to 80 mph.
The company is setting up two staging areas for crews to work from to help facilitate restoration efforts.
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 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.)
“This is the most significant outage event to impact Duke Energy’s Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky service areas in over a decade,” said Anthony Brown, Duke Energy incident commander for the storm. “Local and supplemental crews from outside the region are working day and night to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. However, the extensive damage to power lines and utility poles will prolong the restoration process. We appreciate our customers’ patience, and encourage everyone to stay safe, especially during today’s heat advisory.”
Power restoration process
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.
How to report power outages
Customers who experience a power outage can report using any of the following methods:
• Visit duke-energy.com on a desktop computer or mobile device.
• Use the Duke Energy mobile app (download the Duke Energy App on your smartphone via Apple Store or Google Play).
• Text OUT to 57801 (standard text and data charges may apply).
• Call Duke Energy’s automated outage reporting system at 800.543.5599.
Important safety tips
Duke Energy urges customers to avoid all downed power lines and assume they are energized. Downed lines should be reported to 800.543.5599.
If a power line falls across a car that you’re in, stay in the car. If you MUST get out of the car due to an 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 is touching the car when your feet touch the ground.
More tips on what to do before, during and after a storm can be found at duke-energy.com/safety-and-preparedness/storm-safety.
How to protect refrigerated food during power outages
For customers who lose power and have full refrigerators and freezers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends the following:
• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature.
• A refrigerator can keep food cold for about four hours if it is unopened. If the power will be out for more than four hours, use coolers to keep refrigerated food cold.
• A full freezer will keep the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed.
The FDA offers additional tips for proper food handling and storage before, during and after a power outage at www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-and-water-safety-during-power-outages-and-floods.
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