Duke Energy on Thursday said it had restored power to more than 73,000 customers affected by Wednesday’s severe thunderstorms.
Duke said the storms caused more than 100,000 power outages across nearly all of the 28 districts the company serves.
In a 6 a.m. Thursday news release, the utility said crews were still working to restore approximately 31,000 customers across the state. A company outage map available online about 2:30 p.m. Thursday showed about 4,000 customers without power in west central Indiana, with apparently about 1,600 of those in and around Vigo County.
Wind gusts reached as high as 70 miles per hour in some areas Wednesday afternoon, taking down trees, power lines and poles.
Duke said it brought in more than 500 additional crew members to supplement its statewide workforce and respond to the hardest hit areas, including Bartholomew, Hamilton, Monroe, Union and Vigo counties.
Estimated restoration times – once determined for specific areas – will be posted at duke-energy.com/outages and customers who are registered to receive Duke Energy text outage alerts will receive a text once an estimated restoration time is established for that location.
“I want to thank our customers for their patience and understanding as our crews work quickly and safely to restore power,” said Clint Carnahan, general manager of emergency preparedness at Duke Energy.
The company said that during power restoration, its priority is to repair large power lines and other infrastructure that will return power to the greatest number of customers as safely, quickly and efficiently as possible.
Additionally, it prioritizes essential services such as hospitals and water pumping and treatment facilities. Crews then can work on repairs affecting individual neighborhoods and homes.
Duke Energy customers who experience a power outage can report it the following ways:
• Visit duke-energy.com on a desktop computer or mobile device.
• Use the Duke Energy mobile app (download the Duke Energy app on your smartphone via Apple Store or Google Play).
• Text OUT to 57801 (standard text and data charges may apply).
• Call Duke Energy’s automated outage reporting system at 1.800.343.3525.
More tips on what to do before, during and after a storm can be found at duke-energy.com/safety-and-preparedness/storm-safety.