Duke Energy response to Durham power outage frustrates new mayor

Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams told WRAL News he is frustrated with Duke Energy's response to the outage while expressing concern for the residents in the city's east side.

Jeff Brooks, a spokesperson for Duke Energy, said the outage started Wednesday before 2 p.m. when a work crew unintentionally damaged equipment at a power substation in Durham.

The damage was more significant than originally thought, which is why Duke Energy initially told residents their power would be back on within a few hours.

On Thursday, Duke Energy said most residents should expect their power to return late Thursday night or early Friday morning; however, it could be much later for some residents.

Williams told WRAL News he is concerned about the number of times east, central and northern Durham have lost power.

“It’s always seeming to be in these communities that are the more downtrodden neighborhoods, the more adverse neighborhoods,” Williams said.

The mayor was also frustrated with Duke Energy's response and how they communicated with customers. The power was originally expected to be restored within hours, and that estimated was repeatedly extended on Thursday.

"There have been alerts after alerts that the power was going to come back on, and we’ve been getting that for almost 24 hours now and yet the power is not back on," Williams said. "What I have to say to Duke Energy is don’t send out a message until you know what you’re going to be able to deliver."

According to Brooks, power restoration will have to happen in two phases.

First, Duke Energy must restore power to the damaged substation, which Brooks estimated to occur between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Next, crews will begin to individually turn on each individual power line, which could take some time due to cold lines caused by bitterly cool temperatures. Brooks expects power to be restored to most residents by late Thursday night.

Durham residents who sat outside in the cold Thursday told WRAL's 5 On Your Side it was warmer outside than inside their east Durham apartments.

“It’s inhumane,” said one Rochelle Manor resident. “I’m cooking outside and trying to stay warm, just trying to survive.”

Williams was in Washington, D.C., for a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris when he got the call about the outage.

Williams, who received the call while at dinner with the mayors of Chicago and Atlanta, said he is working closely with Durham city officials to assist residents.

He also requested information from Duke Energy, including how many outages have plagued east Durham and what Duke Energy is doing to prevent future outages.