Duke Energy said Tuesday evening that the 57,000 customers still without power after Monday’s storm can expect for their power to be restored by Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.
“This is the most significant outage event to impact Duke Energy’s Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky service areas in over a decade,” Duke Senior Communications Manager Casey Kroger said. “We appreciate our customers’ patience as our crews work day and night throughout today’s heat advisory to restore power quickly and safely. With today’s temperatures, please stay safe by making arrangements to keep cool and/or stay with family or friends until power is restored.”
Duke brought in crews from across Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and North Carolina to help local crews.
“Local and supplemental crews from outside the region are working day and night to restore power as quickly and safely as possible,” said Anthony Brown, Duke Energy incident commander for the storm. “However, the extensive damage to power lines and utility poles will prolong the restoration process. We appreciate our customers’ patience, and encourage everyone to stay safe, especially during today’s heat advisory.”
The areas most impacted were Butler, Warren and Hamilton counties in Ohio.
About 12,000 homes in Northern Kentucky lost power, and most of those have been restored; fewer than 100 homes remained without power as of Tuesday night, according to Duke Energy’s power outage map.
To find out when your power will be restored, visit the Duke Energy Outage Map.
How to report power outages
Customers who experience a power outage can report using any of the following
methods:
Visit duke-energy.com on a desktop computer or mobile device.
Use the Duke Energy mobile app (download the Duke Energy App on your
smartphone via Apple Store or Google Play).
Text OUT to 57801 (standard text and data charges may apply).
Call Duke Energy’s automated outage reporting system at 800.543.5599.
Safety tips
Anyone who sees a downed power line should assume it is energized, Kroger said. Downed lines should be reported to 800.543.5599.
If a downed power line falls on a car that you’re in, Kroger said to stay in the car. But if you must leave the car, do your best to jump out of the car, landing on both feet. Do not touch any part of the car once your feet are on the ground.
Click here for more tips about what to do before, during and after a storm.
How to protect refrigerated food during power outages
Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold
temperature.
A refrigerator can keep food cold for about four hours if it is unopened. If the power
will be out for more than four hours, use coolers to keep refrigerated food cold.
A full freezer will keep the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is
half full) if the door remains closed.