CHARLOTTE — Duke Energy has announced all outages caused by blackouts have been resolved, as of 5:45 p.m. on Saturday.
Most of the remaining outages caused by the windstorm are expected to be fixed by tomorrow.
The company began the temporary outages shortly after 7:30 a.m. Saturday to protect the power grid.
Just before 12 p.m., they told Channel 9′s Joe Bruno that they were no longer rotating outages.
“We are taking a methodical approach to restoring customers bringing on small groups sequentially so that we can keep power reliable for all customers as we complete these restorations,” Duke Energy said.
Duke Energy tells me they are no longer rotating outages. The focus now is power restoration.
— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) December 24, 2022
Duke Energy said the extremely cold weather is creating an unprecedented demand on the system.
Residents are asked to conserve electricity as the company works to restore the remaining outages.
Extreme cold weather is creating unprecedented demand on the system. We’re restoring customers impacted by emergency temporary outages and remaining storm outages. Please continue to conserve electricity without sacrificing safety. Your support can help keep power on for all. pic.twitter.com/60NmLXeYUe
— Duke Energy (@DukeEnergy) December 24, 2022
More than 2,000 customers are without power in Mecklenburg County, as of 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to Duke Energy’s outage maps.
About 150 outages were reported in the county and Duke Energy said repairs and damage assessments were underway.
Across the Carolinas, more than 19,000 customers were without power as a result of over 1,000 outages on Saturday.
On Saturday, Governor Cooper issued a statement regarding the outages saying:
“This morning I spoke with Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good to offer assistance and to express urgency about the need to restore power quickly in this extreme cold while keeping customers accurately informed. I’m grateful for the workers braving the wind and cold to get the power back on.”
In Gastonia, residents are asked to limit their power use over the next 48 hours as rolling blackouts were caused by the high energy demands.
The city of Rock Hill announced the possibility of rolling blackouts lasting around 15-20 minutes. The city also announced Duke Energy will not be providing a schedule for when and where the blackouts will happen.
First responders are struggling with high call volumes as cold temperatures cause pipes to burst in homes across the Carolinas.
Charlotte Fire Department announced that they will be prioritizing life-threatening calls at this time.
CFD: The Charlotte Fire Department is experiencing high call volume due to frozen pipes and water issues. CFD is prioritizing calls where life is at risk
— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) December 24, 2022
A full map of outages in our area can be found here.
This is a developing story. Check back at wsoctv.com.
(WATCH BELOW: Shots fired near Duke Energy plant in SC were not an attack, sheriff says)
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