A group of Duke Energy employees from northern Indiana gathered at Edinburgh Premium Outlets early Friday morning on their way to Macon, Georgia to prepare for damage from Hurricane Dorian, scheduled to make landfall in Florida this weekend.
About seven or eight Duke Energy employees from Columbus were among those traveling to Georgia on Friday, part of a deployment of about 700 who are expected to help with the aftermath of the hurricane.
After staging in Georgia, crews will wait for the hurricane to make landfall, expected over the weekend, and then will be sent where help is needed, said Chip Orben, Duke Energy spokesman.
The utility is sending assessors, engineers, equipment operators, line persons for both transmission and distribution and back office and support personnel, Orben said.
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In addition to the Edinburgh staging area, crews also departed Friday morning from:
Aurora
Bedford
Clarksville
Princeton
Shelbyville
Sullivan
Interstate 70 at Cloverdale exit
Once the crews reach Macon, Georgia tonight, they will await further instructions as to where they will be deployed, either in Florida or the Carolinas, depending on the track of hurricane and level of damage, Duke officials said.
It’s unknown at this point how long crews will be deployed, but Orben said most Duke employees have been advised to plan on at least two weeks.
Duke Energy’s service area includes Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
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For updates on power outages in Duke Energy’s service area, visit:
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