CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Duke Energy apologized to customers Tuesday and explained what caused rolling blackouts that left hundreds of thousands of people without power over Christmas weekend during frigid weather in the Carolinas.
Duke Energy officials presented the findings of its investigation to the North Carolina Utilities Commission, saying a "unique chain of events" led to the blackouts during the extremely cold weather that brought frigid temperatures to the state on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Duke said the rotating outages were the first in company history, and the preventative measure was necessary to avoid potentially larger outages across the grid. Approximately 15% of Duke Energy customers, roughly 500,000, were impacted.
"We are sorry for what our customers experienced," Duke Energy Carolinas' executive vice president and CEO Julie Janson said. "We regret not being able to provide customers as much advance notice as we would have liked, and acknowledge that the outages themselves lasted far longer than we first expected."
Heather Carlson said her family was without power for 12 hours.
“I woke up, maybe sometime around seven," Carlson recalled. "Instantly, I felt that it was cold."
Carlson and her husband debated going to a hotel with their three kids, however, they eventually decided against it.
“We ran out there and, unfortunately, had to spend some of our Christmas money on a generator and some heaters and some power cords,” Carlson said.
Duke Energy initially asked customers who still had service to reduce usage on Dec. 23. The power company then announced it would begin instituting temporary service disruptions on Christmas Eve to reduce the load on the grid. Duke Energy initially expected the outages to last between 15 and 30 minutes for individual customers.
Carlson said she was very frustrated by the lack of notice from Duke Energy.
“The communication obviously was awful," Carlson said. "We knew that it was going to be extremely cold temperatures well over a week in advance. The first is just waking up at 7 a.m. on Christmas Eve, and you have nothing, so I definitely am frustrated the communication was nonexistent whatsoever.”
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and thousands of customers demanded answers for what led to the blackouts. On Dec. 26, Cooper said he asked Duke Energy for a complete report on what went wrong and necessary changes to prevent another wave of blackouts.
In a statement released Tuesday, Duke Energy officials said the combination of rapidly plunging temperatures, demand for electricity that outpaced projections, diminished generation capacity and the loss of purchased power the company was relying on forced it to initiate the power outages.
"We own what happened," Janson said. "We have set out on a path to ensure that if we are faced with similar challenges, we will see a different outcome and provide a better customer experience."
Duke Energy officials said they also launched internal reviews of its systems and procedures. They plan to examine how other providers responded to this weather event as well, so the company can improve their response in the future.
For some families, the power outages led to even bigger problems.
“We were out like nine hours, and luckily, we had a fireplace to keep the place warm,” Thom Deason said.
He told WCNC Charlotte when the lights came back on, so did the sprinklers at the Providence Court complex in south Charlotte, damaging several units.
“There was literally water running down the walls, running off the porch," Deason said. "This lower neighbor’s entire ceiling fell in."
Deason said he is grateful his apartment was not directly impacted, but he feels for his neighbors, many of whom were away on vacation for the holidays.
“They lost everything,” he said with tears in his eyes.
In the spirit of the holiday season, Deason opened his doors to them.
“My neighbors here, they had several inches of water on the floor,” Deason explained. “They came in with soaking wet feet and sweatpants, and I just gave them what I had ... took care of them. They were cold. I brought them inside, turned the heat on and gave them something to eat."
Deason also made space in his garage so they could store some of their items inside. He then turned to the Nextdoor app, asking for donations of blankets, water and clothing. Those donations came pouring in. Deason said his community was in need, and he knew he had to help.
“This is just what people ought to be doing,” he said.
Deason was surprised to see how many people helped their community and is thankful for the support.
Wake Up Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at Wake Up Charlotte.
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Stitcher || TuneIn || Google Podcasts
All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.