Duke Energy announces power restoration plans for Orange County

- Power outages currently total 1 million; more than 375,000 customers restored already

- More than 12,000 workers focused on Duke Energy Florida effort

Duke Energy has announced power restoration times for specific areas in Florida following the damage from Hurricane Irma.

The company has restored power to more than 375,000 customers. It is currently reporting an estimated 1 million customers without power as of mid-day Tuesday. Crews will continue to work non-stop to safely and quickly restore service.

Times of restoration:

The company expects to complete power restoration to essentially all Duke Energy Florida customers in the following areas:

• By midnight Friday, Sept. 15: The western portion of its service area. This includes Pinellas and Pasco counties

• By midnight Sunday, Sept. 17: central and northern portions of the service area. This includes Alachua, Bay, Brevard, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Flagler, Franklin, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Leon, Levy, Madison, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Volusia, and Wakulla counties.

• Restoration in the severely impacted areas of Hardee and Highlands County may extend beyond Sunday due to rebuilding the electrical system that suffered significant damage in those areas.

“Our crews are focused on restoring the largest amount of customers each day and that means some customers will see their service restored much earlier,” said Harry Sideris, Duke Energy Florida president. “As crews respond to make repairs and restore service, specific estimated times of restoration will be updated for individual areas and customers. We have a workforce of more than 12,000 committed to this restoration effort. We are not stopping until the job is complete.”

Due to the heavy volume of outages and technology issues, the company’s online reporting tool is not updating properly. Outage numbers on the automated system do not reflect actual amounts of customers restored. Until corrected, the company will send out updated outage numbers throughout the day via its online channels.

For company updates, resources, videos and additional information, visit news.duke-energy.com/irma.

Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Outage reporting and status updates

At any time, customers without power can report their outage by:

Texting OUT to 57801 (standard text and data charges may apply)

Restoration process

After assessing damage, Duke Energy will first restore power to critical infrastructure – such as emergency centers, fire stations, hospitals, water treatment and other public safety and health facilities.

The company simultaneously will safely repair major power transmission lines, damaged substations and other large-scale electrical equipment to restore power to the largest number of customers, as quickly as possible.

Work to restore power to small pockets of customers will soon follow the large-scale repairs. For customers in the hardest-hit areas that require rebuilding the system, this may take a week or more. Read more for further details.

Duke Energy is working closely with local emergency management officials and public safety agencies in multiple Florida cities and towns, ensuring a coordinated and collaborative damage assessment and power restoration process.

Downed power lines are hazardous

Duke Energy reminds customers and the public to stay away from downed power lines that have fallen or are sagging, and to consider all power lines – and trees, limbs or anything in contact with power lines – energized and dangerous.

If a power line falls across a vehicle you're in, stay in the car. If you MUST get out of the car due to a fire or other immediate life-threatening situation, try 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.

Flooding safety tips

• Turn off your power at the circuit breaker panel or fuse box if rising water threatens your home or if you evacuate your home.

• Stay away from downed power lines and electrical wires. DO NOT drive over or stand near downed power lines. Electric current passes easily through water.

• Never replace a fuse or touch a circuit breaker with wet hands or while standing on a wet or damp surface.

• Do not try to drive through flooded areas; most flood-related deaths occur in automobiles.

• If your home or business is flooded, Duke Energy cannot reconnect power until the electrical system has been inspected by a licensed electrician. If there is damage, an electrician will need to make necessary repairs and obtain verification from your local building inspection authority before power can be restored.

Customers using generators

If you use a generator at home to provide power until your service is restored, please watch for utility crews and turn the generator off when crews are in your area. The electrical load on the power lines can be dangerous for crews making repairs. The excess electricity created by a generator can feed back onto the electric lines, severely injuring a line technician who might be working on a power line, believing it to be de-energized.