When the weather gets rough and the lights go out, Duke Energy lineworkers are on the way.
Whether it’s a hurricane, ice storm or routine maintenance, more than 7,800 Duke Energy employees and contractors are fixing and improving more than 300,000 miles of power lines in the company’s six states – enough power lines to wrap around the Earth 12 times.
April 18 is National Lineworker Appreciation Day, so this week, we thank the crews who make sure our homes and communities have the power we depend on.
In 2020, Duke Energy lineworkers responded to a record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season despite the pandemic. They deployed to eight hurricanes in Duke Energy territory and the Gulf Coast and responded to high winds and ice storms that knocked out power to thousands. When they weren’t responding to severe weather, they were making the grid more resilient by installing stronger poles and wires, burying outage-prone lines and adding self-healing technology, which will automatically detect outages and reroute power (often in less than a minute) to shorten and prevent outages.
“Powering our customers and communities is the most important job we have,” said Scott Batson, senior vice president and chief distribution officer, “and I am proud of the unwavering commitment of our lineworkers serving on the front lines throughout the COVID-19 pandemic even when severe weather struck.”
In the video above, you can see Duke Energy lineworkers in action and hear them talk about why they love what they do and how much your appreciation means to them. You can show your support by sharing this story or a simple “thank you” with the hashtag #ThankALineworker on social media.
