It’s Friday, January 19.
Thanks to this week’s sponsor Downtown Durham. It’s Downtown Durham Feast month! Come eat or drink in downtown Durham, then enter to win a weekly grand prize of a one-night stay at a downtown hotel, a gift basket filled with goodies from downtown retailers and a $100 SpendaBull e-gift card. More info at downtowndurham.com/feast.
Good morning, readers.
On Thursday, 11,500 Durham residents found themselves without power in freezing temperatures and eight schools had to close for the day.
The afternoon before, an accident at the Duke Energy substation on Ashe Street in East Durham knocked out power after crew members making reliability improvements to the power grid in the area caused the outage, according to Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks.
Initially, residents were told to expect power to return at midnight Thursday. But extensive damage to equipment at the substation made repairs more complex than the crew anticipated, Brooks says, delaying the original timeline.
“It was an unfortunate accident that happened during proactive work to improve reliability,“ Brooks says. “We’ve brought in additional crews and equipment to speed up the repair process.”
As of late Thursday morning, power was restored to 3,500 residents by switching their access to different power lines. Once repairs to the substation have been made, the power lines that were out required a gradual jumpstart before they are operational again, Brooks said.
Temperatures in Durham have dropped below freezing most nights this week and remain low during the day. Durham County libraries at the Main, East Regional, North Regional, South Regional, and Southwest Regional branches have been made available as “warming centers” for residents without heat. The regional branches are open until 6 p.m., and the main branch is open until 8 p.m.
The City of Durham partnered with local organizations such as Durham Congregations in Action to provide warm meals and transportation to those affected by the outage. Additionally, the Durham City-County Emergency Management Department provided an emergency shelter at the old Northern High School at 117 Tom Wilkinson Road.
Duke Energy said it expected power to return for a majority of residents by 6 p.m. Thursday. As of this morning, most residents have their power restored. Anyone who has sustained any damage or losses during the outage can file a damages claim on the Duke Energy website.
Have a good weekend—stay warm.
—Justin
Durham
Durham is on its third day of grappling with a bus driver shortage.
And Durham Public Schools staff members are demanding answers about an accounting error that will require them to pay back raises and bonuses.
Wake
Raleigh’s office vacancy rate is slightly higher than the national average.
Orange
The EPA will assess the coal ash site in Chapel Hill located at 828 Martin Luther King Boulevard following a successful petition from the Center for Biological Diversity, a national conservation nonprofit.
UNC interim chancellor Lee Roberts discussed his first days on the job.
North Carolina
An Arctic cold front hits the Triangle today.
Today’s weather
Sunny with a high of 50 degrees.
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