Dive Summary:
- Duke Energy has unleashed more than 5,000 power line workers, with an average of 20 to 30 years experience, across six states to respond to impacts of extreme weather on the grid.
- But when it comes to bolstering the grid to withstand severe storms, focusing on basic maintenance is essential, said Duke Energy’s Keith Trent, executive vice president and chief operating officer.
- "Often times, basic core maintenance activities, such as tree trimming, pole inspections and outage followup, prove to be the best defense against storm-related outages."
From the press release:
“While the focus on power outage response is greatest during the summer storm season – when popup thunderstorms can leave thousands of customers in the dark in minutes -- Duke Energy's team of employees works year-round to maintain the power grid that serves more than 7 million customers across six states.”