Duke Energy Outlines Revised Restoration Policies

Duke Energy is making major changes to its policies on how to restore power in catastrophic situations such as the September windstorm that knocked out service to 90 percent of its customers.

The changes were outlined Monday before a Cincinnati City Council Committee by Van Needham, Regional Government Affairs Manager for Ohio and Kentucky.

Needham said three areas will be addressed.

One of the first priorities will be establishing a more thorough database of facilities and homes where residents have medical issues. Needham said the utility has such a list, but it needs to be more comprehensive in scope.

The second priority will be to increase the number of staging areas used for out-of-town crews. In September, there were two sites; one at Eastgate Mall and the other at the former Showcase Cinema facility in Erlanger. As many as seven staging areas could be used in future situations.

Finally, Needham said a program is being developed to give customers without power a better idea of when their service will be restored. One of the biggest complaints in the September storm was people either getting no information or inaccurate information.

District Chief Ed Dadosky of the Cincinnati Fire Department said the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County are close to an agreement with a supplier for a reverse 9-1-1 phone system. That system will allow authorities to send out mass or targeted messages to residents in an emergency situation.