Helene caused extensive repair work for Duke Energy. (Photo: Duke Energy)
Duke Energy restored services to 1.4 million customers in North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, a company representative told members of a state legislative panel on Wednesday.
Although power restoration is complete, crews are still working on other restoration efforts.
This includes rebuilding parts of the region’s power grid and installing new infrastructure to replace temporary solutions that were used immediately in the storm’s aftermath, Duke Energy state government affairs managing director Ryan Minto told the House Energy and Public Utilities Committee.
“As I speak, crews are replacing damaged equipment and clearing dangerous vegetation to protect reliability for our customers,” Minto said. “Projects like this will continue as we work to restrengthen the grid in western North Carolina, supporting these impacted communities on their path to full recovery.”
The damage included 19,000 power poles and at least 9 million feet of wire, Minto shared. More than 23,000 field personnel were deployed for storm response, a historic number for the utilities company.
Duke Energy has committed $2.7 million towards disaster relief and readiness since Hurricane Helene, according to Minto.
“Strategic resource staging, helicopter operations, mobile substation deployments and close coordination with local, state and federal partners were critical elements to the success of the company’s historic restoration operation in the mountains,” Minto said.
MVP Southgate
In response to a legislator’s inquiry, a Duke representative also addressed another utility issue that’s been making headlines in recent weeks: the revival of on-again-off-again efforts to construct the controversial MVP Southgate methane pipeline project.
As NC Newsline reported on February 20, owners of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which traverses parts of West Virginia and Virginia, are seeking to extend the pipeline into north central North Carolina in Rockingham County for the purpose of delivering methane gas to Duke.
While the proposed addition would be shorter in length than a previous proposal, the pipeline would be wider in diameter and has drawn opposition from local residents and environmental advocates.
Rep. Pricey Harrison, whose Guilford County district is close to the proposed pipeline path, asked whether the project is truly necessary. “The case being made is this increased use of natural gas,” Harrison, a Democrat, said. “Can you make do with the current pipeline capacity as is?”
Kevin McLaughlin, Duke Energy’s vice president of government affairs and external relations, said the pipeline would allow for cheaper natural gas to enter the state, as opposed to from the Gulf of Mexico.
This would yield savings for Duke Energy’s customers, McLaughlin continued.
“We are supportive of additional natural gas pipelines into North Carolina or their expansion,” McLaughlin said.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments last week in a challenge brought by environmental advocates to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s decision to extend the project’s construction deadline. No ruling has yet been issued.