Staff Reports
As many as 14,000 Duke Energy customers lost power Wednesday due to high winds, including a major power outage in North Vernon.
While there were only scattered outages in Bartholomew County, the utility was dealing with a transmission line issue in North Vernon throughout the day Wednesday affecting an estimated 3,500 customers, said Chip Orben, Duke Energy spokesman.
The transmission line in North Vernon fed into a substation, making it a major issue, Orben said. The utility gave an estimated restoration time of 11:15 p.m. Wednesday night for North Vernon customers, Orben said.
Outages may be checked at duke-energy.com. Anyone with a power outage should report it to 800-343-3525.
Orben cautioned area residents that they should stay away from any downed power lines and call Duke Energy immediately to report it.
The power outages around the state were the result of a high wind warning in northern Indiana and a high wind advisory in southern Indiana all day Wednesday.
The National Weather Service predicted southwest winds at 20 mph to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph for central, south central, southeast and southwest Indiana.
