Duke Energy warning: potential for nearly 1M outages

An approaching winter storm, as Duke Energy sees it, could produce nearly one million outages in the Carolinas, but the utility vows that it is ready to respond.  Nevertheless, customers in the storm’s path should start to prepare for the possibility of electric power outages that could last for days.  Duke is assembling thousands of workers ready to start power restoration, once the storm passes.  Those workers include 5,400 line technicians and vegetation specialists.  Ice-buildup causing trees and branches to fall on power lines is usually the culprit for outages during ice storms.  Duke says it has finished aerial inspections of its transmission lines in the communities expected to be hit hardest, and found no immediate threats.  The company reports an adequate supply of electricity to meet demands; outages related to power generation are not anticipated.