CHARLOTTE, N.C. — About 2,000 Duke Energy customers are still left in the dark in the Charlotte region after Tropical Storm Michael battered the Carolinas earlier this week.
At one point Thursday, over 500,000 Duke Energy customers were without power in both states after severe weather across the region knocked down trees and power lines.
According to Duke Energy, the vast majority should have power back by Monday. They are working around the clock to restore power.
"Schools are other priority," Bill Norton, spokesperson for Duke Energy, said about the dozen schools that are still without power. He continued that they were "working to get them back on before Monday."
Crews from as far away as Canada are reportedly helping with power outages, many of which caused by fallen trees. Duke energy says power will be restored based on priority with hospitals and police stations at the top of the list.
"It gets down to hand to hand combat now," Norton said. "It's really very much like a military operation. They took on the big battles first -- make sure hospitals are taken care of, police, fire stations and then they work their way down the line."
