Duke Energy restores power to 131K residents in the Carolinas after Winter Storm Fern

Duke Energy crews continue power restoration efforts across the Carolinas after Winter Storm Fern brought ice and snow to much of the U.S. over the weekend.

The company said that as of Monday afternoon at 2 p.m., power had been restored to 131,000 customers across the Carolinas.

As of that point, about 22,000 customers were without power in the region. Duke Energy expects to have most outages restored by the end of Monday, though some customers in the hardest hit areas where road conditions are still hindering crews may not see power restored until Tuesday.

“Our crews are on track to restore most outages by tonight. We’re seeing isolated pockets of more extensive equipment damage along the Blue Ridge Escarpment — in places like Hendersonville, Travelers Rest and Clemson — so some customers in those areas may not have service restored until Tuesday,” Duke Energy Storm Director Rick Canavan said.

Most of the outages occurred in North Carolina, where nearly 94,000 customers have already had power restored. But South Carolina has more customers still awaiting restoration. There, more than 37,000 customers have had power restored, while more than 11,000 are still dark.

Duke serves about 4.7 million electric customers throughout the Carolinas, with about 3.8 million of those in North Carolina.

The company is also warning of a text message scam targeting utility customers.

“It mentions rolling outages and includes a link. That message did not come from Duke Energy; please avoid clicking the link,” Canavan said.

As customers have their power restored, Duke Energy is suggesting some energy efficiency tips to help reduce the sting of higher-than-normal bills associated with colder-than-usual temperatures. That includes setting thermostats to the lowest comfortable setting; checking air filters to ensure an efficient heating system; opening curtains and blinds during sunny days to allow spaces to warm naturally; and running ceiling fans clockwise to push warmer air down.

The storm affected much of the nation from the west coast to the east coast. Most of the heaviest snow from the storm has moved, or is moving, offshore. But severe cold is setting in in almost every state east of the Rockies.

So far, at least 18 people have been reported dead from the storm, including three in Pennsylvania, three in Tennessee, three in Louisiana, two in Arkansas, two in Texas, two in Mississippi, and one each in Ohio, Kansas and Massachusetts, according to NBC News.

As of Monday afternoon, more than 700,000 energy customers had lost power across the U.S.