Duke Energy Faces Major Challenges in Restoring Power After Hurricane Helene

Duke Energy crews are working around the clock to restore power to Western North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

With nearly 2,000 line-workers stationed at the Tanger Outlets Asheville, part of a larger team of 20,000 spread across the Carolinas, Duke Energy is making progress despite facing significant challenges. Officials aim to restore power to most customers by Friday.

According to Bill Norton, a Duke Energy spokesperson, around 700 bucket trucks are currently deployed to repair extensive damage caused by the storm. The scale of the damage has been unprecedented, with major flooding and widespread destruction.

“This is a historic storm… It’s not just poles and wires down—it’s the backbone of our system, the transmission infrastructure. We’re repairing that first.,” Norton explained.

Crews are prioritizing repairs to the larger energy transmission systems before moving to local lines and neighborhoods. Norton noted that the lack of visible trucks in some areas is because crews are working “upstream” on major repairs that must be completed before neighborhood-level fixes can begin.

To support the crew members working long hours, Duke Energy has set up 140 sleep trailers, complete with showers, to house up to 18 workers each. Hot meals are provided every night, and officials reported feeding approximately 1,800 crew members on Tuesday alone.

Norton emphasized that due to the transmission infrastructure damage, this recovery effort is taking longer than usual. Duke Energy remains optimistic that the majority of customers will have power restored by the end of Friday. Customers can report power outages via text or receive updates on restoration times.

ABC 13 News and Dominion Energy contributed to this report.