Critical
wwaytv3.com
Duke Energy's self-healing grid technology prevented approximately 19,000 outages in New Hanover County, North Carolina, in 2026, saving customers an estimated 31,000 hours of outage time. During the summer, the system averted 10,000 outages, with about 25% of these occurring during major storms. The technology detects outages, reroutes electricity, and restores power in under a minute in some cases. Currently, nearly 80% of Duke Energy's North Carolina customers, around 3 million people, benefit from this system, a significant increase from 2022.
This initiative is part of Duke Energy's broader grid modernization program, which includes replacing over 150,000 utility poles and upgrading 17,000 wooden transmission poles to steel across the Carolinas. These upgrades aim to improve reliability and storm resilience, with further expansion planned in North Carolina.
Why it matters: This marks the second update in six weeks on Duke Energy's self-healing grid technology, following similar results in Wayne County. The rapid deployment of this system highlights its role as a competitive advantage in managing grid reliability during extreme weather, a growing challenge for utilities nationwide.