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Duke Energy officials keeping close eye on outages

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Duke Energy officials are keeping a close eye on the winter weather headed to the Charlotte area this week.

During the last winter storm, there were thousands of outages, and this time it could be worse

Duke Energy has thousands of feet of power lines to monitor and a representative with the company said they have crews on standby in case of outages.

A spokeswoman told Channel 9 they are not adding extra crews for now.

Duke Energy officials are also checking its equipment and its supplies Monday to make sure they won't have any issues handling the number of power outages.

"Ice is not something that is kind to our power lines, so we were able to avoid that the last time and again, we are continuing to monitor the current weather situation," said Kristina Hill.

If there is ice, Duke Energy officials said it expects more power outages than two weeks ago.

Duke Ene

Safety Reminders:

-  We are prepared, and we encourage customers to prepare by checking their supply of flashlights, batteries, bottled water, non-perishable foods, medicines, etc. Also, ensure a portable, battery operated radio, TV or NOAA radio is on hand.

-  Families who have special medical needs or elderly members should closely monitor weather forecasts and make plans for potential alternate arrangements should an extended outage occur.

-  Stay away from power lines that have fallen or are sagging. Consider all lines energized as well as trees or limbs in contact with lines. Please report downed power lines to Duke Energy and your local police department. If a power line falls across a car that you're in, stay in the car. If you MUST get out of the car due to a fire or other immediate life-threatening situation, do your best to jump clear of the car and land on both feet. Be sure that no part of your body is touching the car when your feet touch the ground.

Duke Energy Carolinas customers can report outages at 1-800-POWERON (1-800-769-3766) and monitor Duke Energy's social media channels for regular updates:

-  Duke Energy on Twitter: @DukeEnergyStorm

- Duke Energy on Facebook: www.facebook.com/DukeEnergyStorm

rgy has a toll-free automated outage reporting line that residents can call.