Duke Energy hoped to have power restored by late Friday night for the remaining Columbus customers still affected by this week’s ice storm.
About 443 customers in Bartholomew and Brown counties were still waiting Friday to have power restored, said Chip Orben, Duke Energy government and community relations manager. That was down from about 1,500 outages in Columbus earlier Friday.
Duke officials hoped to have power for all Columbus customers restored before midnight Friday. An additional 84 customers in Brown County were still without power Friday morning.
Bartholomew County REMC reported only one customer still without power in Jackson Township on Friday.
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Crews, including additional help from contractors and Duke crews from the Carolinas, continued to work Friday throughout southeastern Indiana to restore power in the area.
Wider area affected
In addition to the repair work in Columbus, crews were working to restore power in Shelbyville, Bedford, Greensburg, Aurora, Connersville, Seymour, Clarksville, Corydon and Madison, Duke officials said.
Some outages for customers in Clarksville, Corydon, Madison and Seymour could extend into Sunday because of damage, the utility said. Duke Energy customers with special or medical needs should make alternative arrangements if they are in an area with extended power restoration times, the utility advised.
Duke was also urging customers to check on family members, friends and neighbors with special needs or those who are elderly to make sure they have the necessary emergency supplies.
In all, Duke has restored service to more than 150,000 Indiana customers from the pre-winter ice storm that brought 3/10ths of an inch of ice to Columbus and the southeastern Indiana area Wednesday night into Thursday morning, coating area trees and limbs which then fell on power lines and disrupted power.
More than 500 Duke crew members were deployed by the utility to restore power, joined by another 150 from the Carolinas’ region, where Duke also provides electricity.
“The type of damage that ice does on our system creates unique challenges and is different than anything else,” Duke storm director Kevin Morgan said. “This also presents challenges for our vegetation management crews and extends power restoration times. We thank customers for their patience while we get this work done.”
Duke employees use chain saws and other equipment to clear fallen limbs and trees and then work to repair the lines. Crews prioritize work to ensure the largest number of customers are restored as quickly as possible. Essential services, such as hospitals and emergency response facilities, are the first priority.
Customer tips
In the wake of the storm damage, the utility also advised customers who have damaged meter boxes to have them repaired immediately to avoid delays in restoring power. Information about meter box damage is available on duke-energy.com. A damaged meter box may explain why a customer does not have power while neighbors do, the utility said.
If a customer’s meter box is pulled away from the house and the house is without power, the homeowner is responsible for contacting an electrician for a permanent fix, utility officials said. An electrical inspection may be required before Duke can reconnect service.
Duke Energy also asked that customers using a generator at their home to watch for Duke crews and turn the generator off when crews are working in the area. The excess electricity created by the generator can feed back into electrical lines, severely injuring a line technician who begins work on a line, believing it to be de-energized.
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Duke Energy customers who need to report a power outage should call 800-343-3525 or text OUT to 57801 (standard text and data charges may apply).
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