Duke Energy prepares for another busy hurricane season
SPARTANBURG COUNTIES. ONLY ON WYFF NEWS FOUR FROM DOWNING POWER LINES AND UPROOTING HOMES, HURRICANE HELENE WREAKED HAVOC ACROSS THE CAROLINAS, AND NOW OUR METEOROLOGISTS ARE PREDICTING ANOTHER ACTIVE HURRICANE SEASON. ISABELLE MARAK IS JOINING US LIVE FROM A DUKE ENERGY SUBSTATION. WITH THEIR RECOVERY EFFORTS AND PREPARATIONS FOR THIS HURRICANE SEASON, ISABEL. HEY, GOOD AFTERNOON. DUKE ENERGY SAYS THAT IT’S NEVER HAD TO ENCOUNTER THIS TYPE OF STORM BEFORE, BUT IT’S ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE ITS POWER GRID. WHEN HURRICANE HELENE HIT THE CAROLINAS, A LITTLE OVER 2 MILLION CUSTOMERS LOST POWER, TOTALING CLOSE TO $600 MILLION IN DAMAGES FOR DUKE ENERGY IN SOUTH CAROLINA ALONE. WE HAVE FOLKS WHO’VE BEEN ON THE PAYROLL FOR 30 OR 40 YEARS, AND THEY SAID THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THE DAMAGE THAT WE SAW FROM HURRICANE LANE AFTER THE RAIN IN THE WIND SETTLED, THE COMPANY BROUGHT IN TEMPORARY SOLUTIONS SUCH AS MOBILE SUBSTATIONS. DUKE SAYS THOSE ARE NOW GONE IN SOUTH CAROLINA AS A RESULT OF UPGRADED INFRASTRUCTURE HARDENING SUBSTATIONS, PUTTING FLOOD MITIGATION IN PLACE. THAT’S PERMANENT, AND WE’VE REPLACED A TON OF POLES AND WIRES, UPGRADED THOSE AS WELL TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE MORE RESILIENT AND HARDER TO FOR MOTHER NATURE TO TAKE DOWN. OTHER ADDITIONS INCLUDE NEW HELICOPTERS AND DRONES THAT CAN TRACK DAMAGE FROM ABOVE. HELENE WIPED OUT A BUNCH OF ROADS, AND SO IT WAS HARD TO GET TO PLACES, AND SO ANY WAY YOU COULD FIND TO ADAPT AND OVERCOME AND GET THAT EQUIPMENT WHERE IT’S NEEDED WAS A BONUS. IT’S ALSO EXPANDING ITS SELF-HEALING TECHNOLOGY, WHICH SERVES 50% OF SOUTH CAROLINA CUSTOMERS, DOUBLE THE NUMBER FROM TWO YEARS AGO. THIS IS TECHNOLOGY THAT SENSES AN OUTAGE WHEN IT OCCURS, ISOLATES THAT OUTAGE SO THAT THE NUMBER OF FOLKS WHO ARE IMPACTED BY AN OUTAGE IS REDUCED. AND THE TIME THAT THAT OUTAGE IMPACTS CUSTOMERS IS REDUCED. THE COMPANY SAYS IT’S DOING ALL OF THIS AS AN ONGOING EFFORT TO IMPROVE OPERATIONS, REGARDLESS OF THE TROPICAL STORM. BUT IT LEARNED HOW TO BETTER PREPARE FOR A TROPICAL STORM OR HURRICANE IN THE FUTURE. PREPARING FOR THAT LIKE WE MIGHT IN THE COASTAL AREAS PREVIOUSLY, IS SOMETHING THAT IS PART OF OUR PLANNING AS WE MOVE FORWARD FROM A DUKE ENERGY PERSPECTIVE. ISABELLE WHAT ELSE DOES DUKE ENERGY SAY TO DO TO BE PREPARED? YEAH. HEY, DESTINY, THE COMPANY SAYS THAT IT ALSO SAYS CUSTOMERS SHOULD HAVE THEIR OWN EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN, INCLUDING A KIT, AS WELL AS A PLAN ON IF THE POWER DOES HAPPEN TO GO OUT. REPORTING LIVE HERE IN
Downed power lines, flooding and uprooted trees were all part of the aftereffects of Hurricane Helene in the Carolinas, causing nearly 2 million customers to lose power. Now, the utility company is looking forward as part of its ongoing efforts to expand and improve its power grid. “The upstate and the mountains really aren’t used to having significant tropical impacts. It’s not something historically we’ve had to worry about since Hurricane Helene showed us different, and so now, we know that those types of impacts can occur during severe tropical events, tropical storms. And so, preparing for that, like we might in the coast, still areas previously is something that is part of our planning as we move forward from a Duke Energy perspective,” said Duke Energy spokesperson Ryan Mosier. This includes adding new helicopters and drones and expanding its self-healing technology. Full story above.
Downed power lines, flooding and uprooted trees were all part of the aftereffects of Hurricane Helene in the Carolinas, causing nearly 2 million customers to lose power.
Now, the utility company is looking forward as part of its ongoing efforts to expand and improve its power grid.
“The upstate and the mountains really aren’t used to having significant tropical impacts. It’s not something historically we’ve had to worry about since Hurricane Helene showed us different, and so now, we know that those types of impacts can occur during severe tropical events, tropical storms. And so, preparing for that, like we might in the coast, still areas previously is something that is part of our planning as we move forward from a Duke Energy perspective,” said Duke Energy spokesperson Ryan Mosier.
This includes adding new helicopters and drones and expanding its self-healing technology.
Full story above.