Rolling blackouts, shelters maxed out as arctic blast hits Triangle

Duke Energy customers woke up Christmas morning to a tough ask in the midst of a frigid cold front: Save energy to prevent disruptions to the electric grid.

“Please consider powering down all nonessential electric devices and delaying unnecessary energy use for the next 24-48 hours to help avoid rotating outages in the early morning hours tomorrow and Monday,” the overnight alert stated. “We understand this is a difficult ask given both the holidays and the cold temps and we are grateful for your efforts.”

Christmas Eve’s daytime high was 29 degrees, the lowest maximum ever recorded for Dec. 24 in the Triangle, according to the National Weather Service’s Raleigh-Durham Airport Temperature Records. Similar temperatures occurred across the Carolinas on Saturday, prompting Duke Energy to start “rolling blackouts” in response to “high-energy demand.”

Service interruptions also increased demand for emergency housing, with some Triangle shelters filling all available beds and at least one saying it would have to turn people away.

On Sunday, Duke Energy said it was not anticipating any more rolling blackouts during the holiday.

“We will not need to conduct any temporary outages today at this point and are appreciative of customers’ help in reducing energy usage this weekend,” utility said. “We will evaluate any additional measures that are needed tomorrow and do continue to encourage customers to conserve energy where they can through tomorrow.”

The National Weather Service’s Raleigh office has said the Triangle could see between seven and 14 days of below-normal temperatures.

The predicted high for Sunday and Monday was 39 degrees, with overnight lows in the mid-teens Sunday night and in the mid-teens Monday night, before daytime temperatures rise into the 40s and 50s later this week.

Triangle power outages

The number of outages Sunday morning was down significantly from Friday, when icy winds blew down power lines leaving nearly 50,000 customers without power in the Triangle.

Here are local power outage numbers from Duke Energy as of 2:30 p.m. Sunday:

• Wake County: 9 outages, 231 customers affected

• Durham County: 6 outages, 6 customers affected

• Orange County: 1 outage, 1 customer affected

• Johnston County: 2 outages, 2 customer affected

• Chatham County: 1 outage, 1 customer affected

North Carolina electric cooperatives, which had roughly 2,000 customers in the Triangle without power on Friday — half of them in Chatham County — reported no outages Sunday, according to its website.

Plan ahead: Here’s how to be prepared for power outages in North Carolina

What to do at a traffic intersection when the power goes out

‘Shelters are truly saving lives’

After issuing a white-flag declaration last week through Tuesday, the Wake County Homeless Emergency Response Committee said it housed more people than it had beds for Christmas Eve.

”We’re just not going to turn anyone away,” committee Chair the Rev. Vance Haywood, of St. John’s Metropolitan Community Church in Raleigh, said Sunday morning.

An estimated 215 people stayed in shelters in Wake County on Saturday night, including a few who slept on floors once the 210 available beds filled up, Haywood said. The day shelter for men at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church site remained closed Sunday due to plumbing issues.

The white flag declaration, issued when temperatures fall below 35 degrees, will likely be extended until at least Wednesday, he said.

“These shelters are truly saving lives this week,” Haywood said in a phone interview. “That is nowhere close to an exaggeration.”

Haywood urged community members to help once the emergency declaration lifts and outside of the holiday season, when the committee usually sees a drop in volunteers and donations.

“There’s not as much attention on (helping) when it’s not as cold and then when it’s not a holiday,” he said. “The shelters will continue after this weekend.”

To learn more about how to help, go to stjohnsmcc.org/emergency-shelter.html.

Here are other shelters you can volunteer and donate in the Triangle.

Mark Schultz contributed to this story.