Duke Energy does not expect COVID-19 to hamper power restoration plans after Isaias
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Duke Energy does not anticipate any delays in storm restoration for Isaias due to COVID-19.
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The power company said it brought in an extra 300 crews from the Midwest so the company could adhear to social distancing guidelines.
"Certainly, these new challenges, these new guidelines can take some added steps," Duke Energy Progress Spokesperson Meredith Archie said.
Storm Ready 2020: Preparing in a Pandemic
Most of us know storms can wreak havoc. They can swallow streets, topple trees, rip down lines and wipe out power for days on end.
Restoration is difficult enough under normal circumstances let alone during a contagious health crisis.
The workers will be separated into small groups of about 16 people and then working in isolation. They'll be riding out the storm together from start to finish.
They'll wear masks, have temperature checks and even their down time will be monitored.
Duke Energy tested out the new safety measures earlier this summer with a large-scale training exercise in Florida.
Officials said that training helped them work out some of the kinks. They now fell confident in executing their response plan.
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"Everything from food delivery to preparation, to health screenings to make sure there wasn't a backlog of trucks, to ensure that they could separate the units of people and disinfect if needed. So we're been doing a lot of preparations, a lot of testing, to make sure that we're ready for this type of response," said Archie.
Even though crews will be working together in isolation, they will be mobile. Duke Energy said it will be able to move crews around to the areas hardest hit once the storm bears down.
