Duke Energy Florida makes substantial progress in Pinellas County's barrier islands; nears complete restoration of Hurricane Helene power outages

• The company is on track to meet or exceed estimated times of restoration

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Oct. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy Florida is making substantial progress in Pinellas County's barrier islands, nearing 100% restoration in several communities post-Hurricane Helene. In the remaining barrier island communities, as well as on the mainland, the company is on track to meet or exceed estimated times of restoration – 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4 for most and 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5 for some – meaning restoration of storm-related outages for those who are capable of receiving power is nearly complete. 

"Our crews are determined to get the lights back on for our neighbors and friends here in Pinellas County as soon as possible," said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. "We are confident that all customers impacted by Hurricane Helene – except for those whose homes or businesses were so severely damaged they are now unable to receive power– will be restored by the end of Saturday at the latest."

Restoration status in each of Pinellas County's barrier islands is below:

Additionally, Duke Energy Florida has mobilized customer care units, where company representatives will be onsite to answer questions and provide account assistance. They will be available in the following locations today, Friday, Oct. 4 and tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 5 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.:

• Madeira Beach City Hall, 300 Municipal Drive, Madeira Beach, FL 33708 
• Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber, 6990 Gulf Boulevard, St. Pete Beach, FL 33706 
• Sheraton Sand Key Resort, 1160 Gulf Boulevard, Clearwater Beach, FL 33767 

Customers who need assistance paying their utility bills can learn more about programs that may be available to help by visiting duke-energy.com/HereToHelp or calling 800.700.8744.

For individual estimated times of restoration, customers can use Duke Energy's Outage Map and/or enroll in Outage Alerts.

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: Ana Gibbs
24-Hour: 800.559.3853 

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SOURCE Duke Energy