Midwest lineworkers head South to lend a hand

Hundreds of Duke Energy crews helping co-workers restore power in Florida and Carolinas

Hurricane Matthew news

Stay up to date on restoration efforts in the Carolinas and Florida at www.duke-energy.com/Matthew and following Duke Energy on Facebook and @DukeEnergy on Twitter. 

About 650 Duke Energy lineworkers and other response personnel in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio loaded their trucks in the pre-dawn hours Friday and headed to Florida and the Carolinas to join the thousands of Duke Energy workers already in place.

Duke Energy has developed comprehensive resource and logistical response plans for Hurricane Matthew. Crews are assessing damage and restoring electric service to customers who can recieve service.

The Midwest lineworkers plan to spend the next week in Florida and the Carolinas, where thousands of storm crews are already in place. These crews include lineworkers, vegetation management and damage assessment personnel.

As they work to restore power as quickly and safely as possible, here are a few things you can do to stay safe:

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  • Report outages at www.duke-energy.com (mobile website m.duke-energy.com), texting OUT to 57801 (Standard text and data charges may apply), or calling the automated outage-reporting system at 1.800.769.3766 for Duke Energy Carolinas customers, 1.800.419.6356 for Duke Energy Progress customers and 1.800.228.8485 for Duke Energy Florida.
  • Do not bring a generator inside. Such equipment should be operated only outdoors, and only in well-ventilated areas. Manufacturer instructions should be followed. 
  • Stay away from downed power lines.
  • Check on family members, friends and neighbors who have special medical needs or who are elderly, to ensure they have necessary emergency supplies, and determine now what action they would take in the event of an extended power outage.