Duke Energy customers can submit a claim for loss of food during power outage in Durham

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Duke Energy has apologized for the days-long loss of electricity for thousands of its customers in Durham. Now, they're urging those customers to submit a liability claim due to power outages that left much of east Durham without power for more than 24 hours.

The company tells ABC11 they delivered breakfast to some people living in Durham public housing communities, including at McDougald Terrace. Duke Energy says it also provided a grant to the Red Cross to cover meals for those affected by the outage and a grant to Durham Tech to replace food loss in its food pantry.

Duke Energy is encouraging customers who had to throw out food or were impacted in other ways to file a claim.

Protip: Take photos and save receipts for related purchases, the claim form allows you to upload photos and documents.

Here are the steps to filing your claim:

Click on the Duke Energy liability claims link here; once on that page, midway through the policy explainers you'll see another link -- FILE A CLAIM - - click on that. You will then be walked through a series of options and choices, pick the best one(s) that fits your claim submission and click NEXT to advance the page.

Question 1 - What kind of weather was in the area at the time of the damage?

Question 2: asks for the likely cause of the damage, again choose the best option for your situation

Question 3: What was damaged or lost?

Question 4: Incident Details, here's where you can make your case. Be detailed and provide photos and documents, including receipts for your out-of-pocket expenses due to the power outage.

Question 5: Contact information

Final step: Review your claim. This is your opportunity to go over all the details of your claim and contact information before hitting the submit button.

One man who had to endure living without electricity wants Duke Energy to go one step further, "I want a credit on my bill."

Duke Energy tells ABC11 the work was scheduled months in advance and it's not out of the ordinary for this kind of maintenance to happen in the winter

Power outage claim in photos: Step-by-step