Widespread power outages are being reported across eastern North Carolina due to the winter storm. Power has been restored on Ocracoke Island.
As of 830 am, Duke Energy reports over 1,700 customers in Pamlico, Craven and Onslow counties are still without power. More than half of them in Craven County. And according to Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative, an estimated 1,500 consumers lost power during the night, but that number has been reduced significantly, to about 150. Crews with Tideland EMC have restored power to Ocracoke Island after the entire island lost power around 5 am. Corporate Communications Director Heidi Smith says 1,300 customers were affected.
"They ended up having to sectionalize it and were able to get part of Hatteras Island on, and then they went and began work in the Frisco area and near the Hatteras docks. So to be quite honest with you, consumers there saw the lights come on and go off, come on and go off and it was just a process of a couple of hours to get the power where it would hold. Right now, so far so good. But again, the weather is going to do its thing and we'll be watching it probably a few more hours just to make sure everything is in the clear."
Tideland has nearly 1,000 customers in Beaufort County, 136 customers in Hyde County and about 80 customers in Pamlico County still without power.
