By C.D. Kirkpatrick : The Herald-Sun ckirkpatrick@heraldsun.com Dec 7, 2002 : 1:23 pm ET

DURHAM -- Duke Power President Bill Coley tried to deflect charges this morning that the company has neglected Durham in carrying out storm repairs.

Mayor Bill Bell, Councilman Thomas Stith and County Manager Mike Ruffin, who were present at a Duke Power briefing Saturday morning, said the perception among Durham residents and their elected representatives is that Duke Power has neglected Durham and that the company was ill-prepared for a storm it knew for more than a week was on its way.

Residents suspect neglect because they do not see trucks in their neighborhoods but they see power on in some commercial districts, the elected representatives said.

"These are the perceptions that we in Durham have to deal with. We need to hear from you at the top," Bell said. "[Residents haven’t] seen any trucks on the streets … Duke Power knew the storm was coming and it seemed the response was late. The question is what kind of priority was Duke giving to Durham?"

"I can assure you that is not the case. We got every crew we could get our hands and we had them lined up," Coley said. "We expect that we can meet the 90 percent by Wednesday. We have no idea where the 10 percent without power might be that we would miss. Any impression that Durham did not receive a high priority is wholly incorrect."

The company reported that 81 percent of customers in Durham are still without power today, or 93,000 out of 115,000 total customers. In Chapel Hill, of Duke Power’s 40,000 customers 34,000 are still without power.

The company hopes to have 90 percent of service restored by Wednesday night.

Weather could delay repairs, Coley said, adding "it’s really hard to say when you will have 100 percent back."

Coley said that the highest voltage areas near substations and serving the largest clumps of customers are repaired first and then the lines down farther out.

"In so doing we get the maximum amount of customers back. We also try to get the vital sections first," he said, including airport, hospitals, police, fire and water and sewer stations. [That explains it--we're very near a water and sewer facility.]

Large commercial districts in Durham and Orange counties have been restored and most of Research Triangle Park is on. Stith questioned why RTP would be on and not some of the poorer neighborhoods in Durham that "are already challenged by the winter. RTP’s proximity to high voltage areas means it comes on before other residential areas, Coley said.

Gardner said that Duke was working to identify areas with impoverished elderly, such as the old Durham Hosiery Mill.

Local elected officials and the media pressed Coley on his 90 percent prediction.

At first, he would only say 90 percent of customers system wide by Wednesday with the caveat that Durham and Orange suffered the greatest damage. This irritated Bell, who wanted to know the exact percentage for Durham County. District Manager Scott Gardner said the goal was 90 percent for the two counties, as well as the entire system.

Judging from the outage reports and bird’s eye views from helicopters, southwest Durham County and Orange County were hardest hit, with the storm seeming to lose its destructive freezing power as it headed into southern Granville County, Gardner said.

"The temperature must have risen or the precipitation stopped when it moved up through Butner," he said.

Coley said that Duke Power knew the storm could hit this area as far back as back as Nov. 29. but he said the company did not realize how massive the power outage would be and could not line up repair crews from other power companies that far in advance. Those companies have to protect themselves in case they are hit by a storm, he said.

Power companies have agreements to help each other in times of emergency. But a company’s first priority is to help its own customer first, Coley said.

"None of us in this business, if we know we’re going to get hit by a storm, are going to release our crews [to another company]," he said. "This is the largest storm we’ve ever experienced in the history of our company," Coley said.

Duke now has 10,000 workers, mostly linemen, working to restore service. About 4,800 of them are from other companies. Trucks from power companies in Georgia, Ohio, Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky and Delaware are working in the Triangle, Coley said.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 2002

Answers

Power powers Hillsborough Road business By Rachel Mosteller : The Herald-Sun Dec 6, 2002 : 9:03 pm ET

DURHAM -- Think of it as the power of power.

While most of Durham still shivers in the cold and dark, Hillsborough Road on the western end of town has become ground zero for grub, gas and other goodies -— all because electricity still works there.

The word has gotten out since Wednesday’s ice storm hit. Supermarkets and fast food restaurants were jammed again Friday. Police worked to control crowds at gas stations.

At the Kroger at 3457 Hillsborough Road, shoppers packed the aisles as they waited to check out.

Manager David Gardner said the 24-hour store has been open since the ice storm hit -— but had to close Thursday night because of the then-5 p.m. curfew. Friday night’s curfew was changed to 10 p.m.

Suppliers have kept the shelves stocked, but items like bread, charcoal, chips and firewood have been flying off the shelves.

Large crowds loomed in the deli meat area, snatching up the few products left on the shelves. All checkout lines were open, and Gardener’s reduced crew was trying to keep the lines moving.

"We’re running short staffed," Gardner said. "But our number one priority is to take care of the customers and get them checked out."

Across the parking lot at the Chick-fil-A, lines were just as long as customers waited for warm food.

Owner Pamela Moncree said she expected the long lines but was not able to prepare for them.

"All you can do is hope that your employees can get here and hope that the customers will understand what’s going on," Moncree said. "Just like they don’t have power, our employees don’t either."

Demand for food has soared, she said. The restaurant was down to its last 12 sandwiches when its bread supply arrived Friday morning. Moncree estimated that business was three times the normal hourly rate. Many of her workers came from other stores that have no power, she said.

"The community has gone two days with no food," Moncree said. "That’s why we opened today. It’s more of a community service than it is a business."

The Dog House decided to give customers a bit of personal attention by early afternoon as three employees began taking orders to customers’ cars while four other prepared hot dogs and all the fixings inside.

"When we saw all the people in line we figured they were probably afraid of getting out of line for gas. It’s gone over real well," said The Dog House general manager Diana Bell. "A lot of people didn’t know we were open because our lot was empty."

At the Shell gas station across the street, things were plenty hectic, too.

Johnny Medlin, owner of the Shell at the corner of LaSalle Street and Hillsborough Road, said he was not prepared for the crowds of customers that flocked to his business.

"Majority of people are doing pretty good," Medlin said as he stood in the street directing the lines of cars trying to buy gas. "Just a few of them have bad attitudes. Other than that, we are doing a lot better now."

Police vehicles were blocking some entrances to the gas station, trying to prevent people from cutting in line. Customers were not allowed inside the store because too many were trying to do business at once.

"It’s too crowded," Medlin said. "People were just throwing money around, making a mess."

Medlin said he was not worried about running out of gas, saying he had enough to go until at least Sunday, even if a fuel truck did not come in.

After not being able to get a shipment Thursday, the Blimpie sandwich shop near Kroger received food Friday, but has been playing catch up ever since.

Owner Martin Bonn said a large order from Duke Power kept them busy.

"We had to feed 450 of their linemen to keep them going," he said. "We’ve been really busy today."

-- Anonymous, December 08, 2002