INDIANA – Summertime is storm season in Indiana, and with storms can come power outages. Duke Energy knows how critical the reliability of your electric service is to you, and has a multi-year program underway to limit power outages and shorten the length of outages when they do occur.
Fewer and shorter power outages through smart-thinking technology
Duke Energy is taking advantage of “self-healing” technology to help prevent outages and get the lights back on sooner when problems occur.
Much like the GPS in a car can identify an accident ahead and reroute a driver around the incident, self-healing technology is like a GPS for the power grid. The technology can quickly identify power outages and alternate energy pathways to restore service faster for customers when an outage occurs.
While a self-healing system can’t repair the physical damage to the power line that a human crew must repair, it can help limit the number of customers who experience an extended outage because of the damage. On average, self-healing technology reduces the number of customers affected by a power outage by up to 75%. More than 80,000 hours of power outages were avoided on Duke Energy’s system in 2022 due to the technology.
Currently, 13% of Duke Energy’s Indiana customers are supplied from a circuit with automation. After the completion of work, an estimated 65% will be served by automated circuits.
Hardening the electric grid to better withstand weather effects
One of the biggest causes of power outages is severe weather. Duke Energy’s measures to fortify the grid include projects like upgrading wood poles to steel ones, modernizing substations, and targeted undergrounding of outage-prone power lines.
Tree trimming to reduce interference with power lines
It’s rarely popular, but trimming and occasionally removing trees that interfere with power lines is critical for the reliability of electric service. Trees and vegetation are the main cause of power outages, and crews trim trees on a regular cycle.
Restoring power when outages occur
While all these steps can limit power outages, outages can’t be prevented altogether. When they do occur, Duke’s priority is to repair large power lines and other infrastructure that will return power to the greatest number of customers as safely, quickly, and efficiently as possible. Crews then can work on repairs affecting individual neighborhoods and homes.
You can learn more here about:
- How to report an outage – phone, text, or online
- How to sign-up for outage alerts and updates
- How to view outages on our website
- How Duke Energy restores power
- Answers to questions such as, “Why is my neighbor’s power on but mine is not?”
