Deliver Your News to the World

Duke Energy Indiana Brings in Hundreds of Line Workers


WEBWIRE

PLAINFIELD, IND. - Duke Energy has expanded its Indiana work force today with an additional 500 field employees and contractors from the Carolinas and elsewhere. Another 60 contractors will join the effort Wednesday.

Most of the additional workers are Duke Energy employees from the company’s utilities in North Carolina and South Carolina. Contractors who typically work for the company in the Southeast and Midwest are also part of the group.

High winds from Hurricane Ike tore through Indiana Sunday and knocked out power to more than 300,000 Duke Energy Indiana customers. The company had approximately 82,000 customers out of service as of Tuesday morning.

High winds caused extensive damage to power infrastructure, resulting in outages in virtually every Duke Energy district in the state. The hardest hit areas were Clarksville, Seymour, Connersville, Corydon, Madison, Bedford and Bloomington. The majority of those customers should be restored to service by sometime Friday. Power restoration in Bloomington and Clarksville may continue into Saturday.

Power restoration estimates for other areas are:

Before midnight Tuesday:
Vincennes Franklin Shelbyville
New Castle Aurora

Before midnight Wednesday
Greensburg Princeton

“We have an army in the field today,” said Duke Energy Indiana President Jim Stanley. “The majority of the problems we are tackling right now affect only one to five customers, which makes power restoration slower-going. You have to dedicate a lot of people to deal with so many individual problems.

“While we work to restore power, safety for both the public and our workers is our highest priority,” Stanley said. “While it may be tempting to clear debris around downed power lines, don’t do it. Assume all lines are energized and contact us.”

Duke Energy customers can report down lines or power outages at 1-800-343-3525.

Duke Energy’s Indiana operations provide approximately 7,300 megawatts of safe, reliable and competitively priced electricity to more than 780,000 electric customers, making it the state’s largest electric supplier.

Duke Energy, one of the largest electric power companies in the United States, supplies and delivers electricity to approximately 4 million U.S. customers in its regulated jurisdictions. The company has approximately 35,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity in the Midwest and the Carolinas, and natural gas distribution services in Ohio and Kentucky. In addition, Duke Energy has more than 4,000 megawatts of electric generation in Latin America, and is a joint-venture partner in a U.S. real estate company.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: www.duke-energy.com.



WebWireID74926





This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted.

News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.