In Piedmont, thousands of people may have to wait until Tuesday night to get electricity

GREENSBORO, NC – After three days without electricity, thousands of people in the Triad may have to wait until Tuesday night to get it.

They have trees to cut, lines to replace and poles to repair. About 2,000 Duke Energy teams are present in Piedmont to help all over the country.

A spokesman for Duke Energy said Greensboro had the most breakdowns in the state after the storm.

"Many posts broken in two, many lines on the floor, broken transformers. So it takes a lot of work and a lot of technical expertise, "said Meredith Archie of Duke Energy.

One of the biggest obstacles that crews face is the magnitude of these failures. Breakdowns are also difficult to repair and take a lot of time and specialized teams.

"We start with the failures that affect the largest number of customers. We then move on to neighborhoods and areas that impact small numbers, "said Archie.

This means that when work in one area is completed, hundreds of people could be supplied with electricity, but a number of areas require work.

Some families, like the Tanghems, regained their power on Saturday afternoon.

"We actually heard the aquarium. The pump went on and started bubbling. And there was an air of excitement in the house, "said Valery Tanghem.

Others, like Mike Toomes, who lives near Ashland Drive, are still waiting for power.

"It's good. We have hot water. I am tired of camping. I'm ready to go back to the electrical equipment, "he said.

Many people, including Mayor Nancy Vaughn, have asked how long the restoration would be long, especially because the outage map indicates that electricity will be restored in most areas on Tuesday night.

"I was frustrated. We expected to see a few more crews around. The teams here are working hard, "said Mayor Vaughn.

The work is hard and the crews need a little more time to reignite everyone.

"It's a lot of long hours and we appreciate their work and what they do. And they have worked a lot these days, "said Toomes.

The mayor tweeted Saturday night that Duke Energy's teams will replace at least 150,000 feet of wire, 75 broken poles and 40 transformers.
"We appreciate the hard work of catering teams and the more frequent communications," she said.

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