Staff report
Duke Energy crews have restored nearly 223,000 outages across Greater Cincinnati since the first of several major storm systems caused severe destruction across the region 48 hours ago.
Duke crews, working around the clock, have restored all but 6,376 outages in NKY; 36,235 have been restored.
The following outage figures are as of 4 p.m. on Thursday. Refer to the Duke Energy Outage Map for up-to-date figures and estimated restoration times.
Duke Energy serves about 765,000 electric customers in Ohio and 155,000 electric customers in Kentucky.
The latest
• Major storms on Tuesday and Wednesday caused more than 261,000 customer outages across Greater Cincinnati. As of 4 p.m. on Thursday, Duke Energy restored 85% of these outages.
• Nearly all Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky customers who remain without power and can safely receive service will have their service restored on Thursday.
• All customers who lost power on Tuesday or Wednesday can find their estimated restoration times on Duke Energy’s Outage Map.
• The estimated restoration times shown on the map reflect the latest time by which Duke Energy expects to restore service to the majority of impacted customers. Many of these customers will have power restored sooner than the posted estimate.
• Storm workers have been challenged by extensive storm damage, hazardous conditions and several rounds of severe weather that followed the initial storm. For safety purposes, workers must pause their restoration efforts when lightning and high winds are present.
• Duke Energy has brought in more than 2,000 lineworkers, tree trimmers and other storm workers, including Duke Energy workers from Indiana and the Carolinas, to help restore power in Greater Cincinnati.
Duke Energy Foundation
To support communities affected by the storms, the Duke Energy Foundation has committed $100,000 in grants to organizations providing food, shelter and recovery assistance across the region.
The foundation is providing emergency grant funding to local nonprofit organizations supporting relief and recovery efforts.
The rapid response grants will support community efforts to meet immediate needs in impacted areas, including:
• Freestore Foodbank – $75,000 to provide food, water and other necessities to communities impacted by the storm.
• American Red Cross – $15,000 to support shelter operations and disaster recovery efforts for impacted residents.
• Matthew 25: Ministries – $10,000 to distribute disaster relief supplies, hygiene kits, cleaning products and other recovery materials.
Andy Cassidy, Duke Energy storm director said, “Thanks to the dedication of our crews and support teams, we’ve made substantial progress restoring power across the region, but there is still important work to do.
“We appreciate our customers’ patience and support as crews continue working as quickly and safely as possible to restore service.
“And we ask everyone to please keep their distance from active work zones and our storm workers. This will ensure your safety as well as allow our storm workers to remain focused on restoring power and keeping themselves and their teammates safe.”
Safety reminder
• Stay safe: Stay away from downed or sagging power lines and anything they’re touching, operate generators safelyand follow other post-storm tips.
• Report hazards: Call 911 and Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky at 800.543.5599.
• Keep roads clear: Move over for first responders and utility trucks and treat intersections with nonworking signals as four-way stops.