Duke Energy's self-healing technology, ongoing readiness enable rapid power restoration in Florida during back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton

Rhea-AI Summary

Duke Energy demonstrated the effectiveness of its self-healing technology during hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida, preventing over 300,000 customer outages and saving more than 300 million minutes of total outage time. The technology, which serves 77% of Duke Energy Florida customers, can reduce affected customers by up to 75% and restore power in under a minute. The company's grid improvements include hardening over 40,000 poles in three years, maintaining vegetation across 4,000 miles of distribution lines, and expanding infrastructure with 100 miles of new transmission lines and 16 new substations since 2021.

Positive

• Self-healing technology prevented 300,000+ customer outages during recent hurricanes
• Technology serves 77% of Florida customers, reducing outages by up to 75%
• 40,000+ poles hardened through Storm Protection Plan in past three years
• 50% of primary power lines are underground, enhancing grid resilience
• Completed 100+ miles of new transmission lines and built 16 new substations since 2021

Negative

• None.

Insights

Utility Infrastructure Analyst

Duke Energy's implementation of self-healing grid technology demonstrates significant operational improvements, preventing 300,000 customer outages and saving 300 million minutes of outage time during recent hurricanes. With 77% of Florida customers now covered by this technology, the company shows strong execution in grid modernization.

The extensive infrastructure investments, including hardening 40,000 poles over three years and maintaining 4,000 miles of distribution lines, position Duke Energy well for climate resilience. The commitment to underground 50% of primary power lines and plans for 15,000 annual pole hardenings indicate a robust long-term strategy for grid reliability.

These investments should translate to reduced maintenance costs, improved customer satisfaction and better regulatory relationships - all important for maintaining stable returns in the regulated utility sector. The focus on grid resilience is particularly valuable given Florida's growing population and increasing storm frequency.

• Smart, self-healing systems in Florida helped save more than 300 million minutes of total lost outage time during recent hurricanes

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Nov. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- While Florida grappled with back-to-back hurricanes this fall, Duke Energy's year-round grid-strengthening work and advanced technology helped to reduce outage impacts for customers, enabling swift restorations.

During hurricanes Helene and Milton, the company's self-healing technology prevented more than 300,000 customer outages, saving customers more than 300 million minutes of total outage time.

Similar to a GPS navigation system that can identify an accident ahead and update your route, self-healing grid technology quickly identifies power outages and reroutes power to restore service faster for customers when an outage occurs.

This advanced technology can help isolate the cause of an outage and reduce the number of customers affected by up to 75%, often restoring power in less than a minute. Approximately 77% of Duke Energy Florida customers are directly served by this technology.

"With storms increasing in frequency and intensity, Duke Energy Florida's Storm Protection Plan, year-round infrastructure work and preparedness efforts are critical to our ability to respond quickly and safely," said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. "We're working around the clock to improve reliability for our customers, strengthen the grid against severe weather and enhance our response after a major storm."

In addition to investing in advanced technologies, the company manages vegetation near power lines, installs stronger poles, upgrades wires and places lines underground to make the energy grid more resilient, reduce outages and restore power faster for Florida's growing population.

• Over the past three years, more than 40,000 poles have been hardened through Duke Energy Florida's Storm Protection Plan. Duke Energy Florida continues to inspect more than 100,000 poles and structures annually and plans on hardening nearly 15,000 poles and structures per year.
  
  
• Nearly 50% of Duke Energy Florida's primary power lines are buried under ground. The company will continue to install underground cable in targeted areas where it is most practical, considering many factors including accessibility, vegetation coverage, asset age, cost and reliability.
  
  
• Last year, teams completed more than 4,000 miles of vegetation maintenance on Duke Energy Florida's distribution lines and 600 miles of planned work on the transmission side, including trimming trees and removing trees that present a hazard to power operations.
  
  
• Additionally, the company is expanding capacity of the electric grid by building new substations, expanding existing substations and installing new or larger power lines to provide reliable service in the growing state. Since 2021, teams have completed more than 100 miles of new transmission lines, conducted nearly 100 miles of transmission line upgrades and built approximately 16 new substations in Florida.

These grid improvements and technological innovations help support the efforts of thousands of restoration personnel working to restore power to customers following a major storm. The company works to improve after every storm and applies lessons learned to future response efforts. Duke Energy Florida also relies on key relationships with first responders, emergency response organizations, other utilities and contractors to provide the resources and expertise needed to serve customers effectively every storm.

Duke Energy Florida

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 12,300 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 2 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. The company's electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. 

Duke Energy is executing an ambitious clean energy transition, keeping reliability, affordability and accessibility at the forefront as the company works toward net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including expanded energy storage, renewables, natural gas and nuclear.  

More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition. 

Contact: Audrey Stasko
Media line: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DE_AudreyS

 

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SOURCE Duke Energy

FAQ

How many customer outages did Duke Energy's (DUK) self-healing technology prevent during hurricanes Helene and Milton?

Duke Energy's self-healing technology prevented more than 300,000 customer outages during hurricanes Helene and Milton, saving over 300 million minutes of total outage time.

What percentage of Duke Energy Florida (DUK) customers are served by the self-healing technology?

Approximately 77% of Duke Energy Florida customers are directly served by the self-healing technology.

How many poles has Duke Energy (DUK) hardened in Florida over the past three years?

Duke Energy Florida has hardened more than 40,000 poles through its Storm Protection Plan over the past three years.

What percentage of Duke Energy Florida's (DUK) primary power lines are underground?

Nearly 50% of Duke Energy Florida's primary power lines are buried underground.