PLAINFIELD — Duke Energy crews have restored power to more than 61,000 people as crews continue to respond to customers affected by outages after the severe storms that moved through Indiana on Friday and heavy wind on Saturday.
Duke Energy says almost 70,000 people lost power after the storms and approximately 9,200 remain out of service out of 8:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
“The outage numbers don’t tell the story, however, of the damage we are seeing,” Brian Liggett, Duke Energy vice president of zone operations said.
According to Liggett, Duke has found more than 200 broken or damaged poles and a considerable amount of wires down.
"Our hearts go out to those affected by this storm, and our crews are working diligently to restore power in impacted communities as safely and quickly as possible” Liggett said.
Duke Energy has moved crews from less affected areas to help people where the storm hit hardest, as well as brought in contractors to speed up the process.
They will continue to restore service throughout Sunday and hopes to have almost all customers restored by midnight on Sunday, but says extended outages are possible due to the extreme damage in some areas.
Duke Energy's predictions for power restoration based on the location:
- Power is expected to be restored to Duke Energy customers in the following communities by noon today: Lafayette and Wabash.
- Power is expected to be restored to Duke Energy customers in the following communities by midnight tonight: Clinton, Kokomo, Terre Haute, Bedford, Bloomington, Columbus, Madison, Seymour, Shelbyville and Vincennes.
- Power is expected to be restored to Duke Energy customers in the following communities by 6 p.m. Monday: Franklin, Martinsville and Sullivan.
Customers can receive text, phone or email alerts. Learn how to sign up at outage alerts. Customers can stay informed by texting REG to 57801.
How to report power outages
Duke Energy customers who experience a power outage can report using any of the following methods:
- 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.
Important Safety Tips
Duke Energy is also urging customers to avoid all power lines and assume they are energized and to please report them.
According to Duke, If a power line falls across a vehicle that you're in, stay in the vehicle.
If you MUST get out of the vehicle due to an immediate life-threatening situation, do your best to jump clear of the vehicle and land on both feet. Be sure that no part of your body is touching the vehicle when your feet touch the ground.
More tips on what to do before, during and after a storm can be found at duke-energy.com/safety-and-preparedness/storm-safety.
