Duke Energy prepares for potential power outages as severe weather nears the Triangle

Duke Energy crews are preparing for potential power outages ahead of severe weather headed toward the Triangle on Wednesday.

Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks said crews are on standby to respond.

“What we’re expecting right now is the potential for some thunderstorm activity, but also some high winds as that storm comes through, and that can result in downed trees, trees on power lines, broken poles and outages that we could see,” Brooks said.

Brooks said crews are in “wait-and-see” mode to determine the location of the worst impacts.

“This is one of those where we must see where the impacts pop up because really, every county could be in play at some point during the storm, as it comes through,” he said.

Brooks said self-healing technology will be an essential tool for this storm.

The technology finds new lines and routes to get power to homes and businesses in seconds or minutes without a crew having to respond.

“During 2024, this technology helped to avoid more than a quarter of a million customer outages just in the triangle, saving nearly half a million hours of outage time that would have happened without that technology,” Brooks said.

Brooks urges Duke Energy customers to alert them if power is lost on Wednesday.

“If you experience a power outage, we want you to report it. You can report the outage by texting OUT to 57801, or you can go on the Duke Energy app or our website and report the outage,” he said.