Update: Duke Energy now says majority of customers will have power restored on Sunday

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Duke Energy says some customers may need to wait until Sunday or later to get power. Duke Energy’s Bill Norton provided that update on the Buncombe County briefing on Friday, Oct. 4.

While Norton said previously that the majority of customers should have power restored by the end of Friday morning, he said most should now be restored on Sunday.

DUKE ENERGY SHOWS HELENE’S EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO SUBSTATION AS CREWS WORK TO RESTORE POWER

Norton said there are still 170,000 customers without power. He said some could also see power restored next week.

He visited the substation at Biltmore Village on Friday and detailed the efforts crews will have to make to fix it.

“If you go out and look at it, the water line, it’s almost to the top of that substation,” he said. “You can see the water line there. It’s amazing. That substation alone is going to take three to four months to repair.”

Norton said crews have brought in a massive mobile substation. It will give customers temporary power while the substations are being worked on. They expect the substation to be powered up by Sunday.