Duke Energy crews have restored power to more than 131,000 customers in North and South Carolina following winter storm Fern. As of 2 p.m. on Monday, January 26, about 22,000 customers remained without electricity. The company expects that most outages caused by the storm will be resolved by the end of the day, though some areas with severe damage—particularly along the Blue Ridge escarpment in places like Hendersonville, Travelers Rest, and Clemson—may not see service restored until Tuesday.
Rick Canavan, Duke Energy’s storm director, stated: “Our crews are working to restore most outages tonight. We are seeing isolated areas with more extensive equipment damage along the Blue Ridge escarpment in places like Hendersonville, Travelers Rest and Clemson, so it is possible that some customers in those areas may not have service restored until Tuesday.” He also warned customers about a scam involving text messages related to outages: “I also want to warn customers about a text message scam targeting utility customers. The message mentions outages and includes a link. That message is not from Duke Energy; please avoid clicking on the link.” Canavan added: “Thank you for your patience and cooperation as crews continue their work.”
The latest outage figures at 2 p.m. showed that in North Carolina, 93,609 outages had been restored with 10,554 customers still without power. In South Carolina, 37,450 outages were resolved while 11,422 remained affected.
Duke Energy serves approximately 4.7 million electric customers across both states—3.8 million in North Carolina and nearly 860,000 in South Carolina.
With colder-than-normal temperatures expected this week leading to increased energy use as heating systems run longer hours—which could result in higher bills—the company offered several energy efficiency tips:
– Set thermostats to the lowest comfortable setting.
– Check air filters for efficient system operation.
– Open blinds during sunny days for natural warmth and close them at night to retain heat.
– Run ceiling fans clockwise to push warm air downward.
Additional energy-saving advice can be found at duke-energy.com/WinterEnergySavings.
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is one of the largest electric power holding companies in the United States. Its utilities provide electricity to about 8.6 million customers across six states and operate with a collective owned capacity of over 55 gigawatts. Its natural gas operations serve approximately 1.7 million customers across five states.
The company continues its transition toward cleaner energy sources while investing in grid improvements and maintaining reliability for its customer base.
More information is available at duke-energy.com and through Duke Energy’s News Center.
