Duke Energy prepares for possible impacts from Hurricane Debby

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RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Duke Energy is bracing for potential impacts from Hurricane Debby in the Triangle. The utility is also helping out in Florida by sending extra crews as the state prepares for Debby to make landfall.

Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks said the utility is watching the forecast daily to see where the hurricane’s path might hit, and he said Duke Energy makes preparations for hurricane season months in advance.

“You have to prepare for a little bit of everything,” he said.

Brooks said Duke Energy works constantly to strengthen the power grid. The company is also expanding self-healing technology, which about 40 percent of their customers have access to right now.

Self-healing detects power outages and tries to reroute power to end outages faster until crews can make repairs. Brooks said this is especially helpful if weather conditions are still dangerous.

“If it’s still very windy and gusty, we might be limited in our ability to get out there, if there’s floodwaters or in the winter, icy, snowy conditions, that can also limit our ability to go out until conditions are safer,” he said.

Duke Energy also has crews from the Midwest down in Florida to provide extra support.

“We know how important it is to get power restored as quickly as possible after a storm and those first 48 hours are really, really important,” Brooks said. He added Duke Energy has not deployed any North Carolina crews to Florida because the utility wants to make sure they are ready to help if Debby moves up the East Coast.

Brooks also said, whether you are in Florida or North Carolina, it is important to have a plan of what to do if you lose power, possibly for several days.

“This is still fairly early in hurricane season and we’ve still got a lot of time left and a lot of letters in the alphabet, so I think that we’re going to see more storms probably before we’re done,” he said.

CBS17 also reached out to the American Red Cross in North Carolina. Spokesperson Mike Dicinti said the Red Cross has not made detailed preparations in the Triangle or North Carolina, as it is still too early to tell what impact Debby will have. However, the Red Cross has sent volunteers down to Florida.

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Sanika Bhargaw

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