North Carolina braces for hot week with power grid ready

As heatwaves grip North Carolina, power companies are prepared for the strain on the system.

Substations distribute electricity throughout neighborhoods, and Duke Energy crews work hard to prevent outages through maintenance and monitoring.

High temperatures above 90 degrees are expected all week.

“Try to stay hydrated and out of the sun as much as possible,” Lori Hatlen, Lives in Raleigh, said.

Raleigh residents Lori and Roger Hatlen are taking precautions, keeping their thermostat set at a cool 74 degrees.

“We usually have ours set on 74 -I’m usually pretty cool,” Lori Hatlen, Lives in Raleigh, said.

This increased air conditioner use can stress power grids, but Duke Energy assures residents they have measures.

“We’re not anticipating any problems meeting customer demand,” Jeff Brooks of Duke Energy said.

At new energy control centers, they utilize “demand response technology” and “self-healing” technology to automatically reroute power in case of outages.

“This the time of year we tend to use our demand response technology more. so ac control things like that could happen during this time period. been using already,” Jeff Brooks, Duke Energy said.

The Hatlens, living in a new energy-efficient home, hope their bills won’t spike too much during this hot week.

“We haven’t had any outrageous bills it’s a new build and hopefully it’ll be reasonably efficient,” Roger Hatlen said.