Public Staff Emergency Outage Preparedness Message

The Public Staff encourages all North Carolinians to be prepared for possible extended outages of electric utility service.

Currently, North Carolina electric utility companies operate with a high level of reliability.  However, history shows extended electric service outages can occur.

Service outages can be caused by major weather events, malicious acts, equipment or system failure, or accidents.  These outages can last for days or weeks.

Hurricanes Hazel (1954), Hugo (1989), Fran (1996), Floyd (1999), and Matthew (2016), along with the 1993 mountain blizzard and 2002 statewide ice storm each left behind a high number of extended electric service outages.  We encourage all North Carolinians to be diligent and be prepared to care for yourself and those that depend on you.

Visit ReadyNC.org to assist you and your family to:

  • Make a written emergency action plan
  • Assemble your emergency kit
  • Protect Your Home
  • Get an Insurance Checkup
  • Safeguard Vital Documents
  • Receive Emergency Alerts
  • Help Your Neighbors, Seniors, and Pets