CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hundreds of Tega Cay residents have been dealing with daily power outages for about a week.
Duke Energy told WCNC Charlotte about 1,100 customers in Tega Cay have been experiencing “blinks” — when the power goes out for a short period of time.
Even though the outages are quick, people say they've been causing huge headaches.
"I was working and it lost all of my work," Tega Cay resident Kathy Anne Rex said. "So, I wasn't happy."
Rex works from home. She said she first noticed her power go out over a week ago. Since then, it's happened almost every morning.
"It's just really disturbing that in this day and age, something like this continues to happen," Rex added.
Rex’s Facebook post about the blinks got over a hundred comments from neighbors having the same frustrations. One woman claims her fridge broke from the repeated outages and spoiled her food.
After dozens of residents complained to Duke Energy, spokesperson Logan Kureczka said crews finally found the cause of the outages Wednesday afternoon.
Kureczka told WCNC Charlotte it was a piece of faulty equipment.
"There was a little malfunction with it," Kureczka said. "So, we're right now going to replace that but that is part of our work in Tega Cay to upgrade and strengthen the grid."
As the Carolinas grow, Kureczka said Duke Energy is making power grid improvements, like replacing lines and poles and installing "self-healing" technology to keep up with demand.
The project accidentally caused the blinks, but crews are working to fix it.
"We don't see them often, but they do happen from time to time," Kureczka said. "Ultimately, what that will result in is a stronger power grid with fewer outages."
Rex is hopeful she’ll be able to work without interruptions soon. "I'm glad they figured it out. I hope that they can get it fixed."
Kureczka said teams are working to fix the malfunction quickly but she doesn’t have a set time of when it will be resolved.
Duke Energy customers can report power outages by texting "out" to 57801.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.