Progress Energy Crews Heading East to Assist in Storm Restoration

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Company line & service crews, as well as contract line and tree crews and support personnel are expected to arrive inWilmington and other coastal areas today, so they can be deployed to assist other company crews once the storm moves throughEastern North Carolina Saturday morning. Progress Energy has a normal complement of about 300 company and contract line and tree personnel in the region that extends from the coast to Interstate-95.

The company also will bring in crews from other Progress Energy locations, as well as non-company crews from the region, as the situation warrants.

On its current forecast path, Hanna would be expected to cause damage and power outages, primarily inEastern North Carolina, but some impacts could extend well inland, depending on the storm's ultimate course and intensity. Progress Energy will maintain line and tree crews in all areas where the storm could create power outages, including the Triangle, Sandhills andSouth Carolina. Once those areas are clear, teams will be sent to easternNorth Carolina to support restoration there as needed.

Meanwhile, the company continues to monitor the movement of Hurricane Ike, which remains a strong Category 4 storm. Forecasts vary considerably, and there is a potential for impacts to theSoutheastern United States next week. Tropical Storm Josephine is also churning farther east in the Atlantic.

"We are making our final pre-storm preparations today, and we encourage our customers to do the same," said Hershell McCarty, Progress Energy Carolinas storm coordinator. "Whether Hanna makes landfall as a tropical storm or hurricane might make a slight difference in the number of outages created, but it doesn't factor into our level of commitment and response. Our goal is to restore service as quickly and safely as possible, which is what our customers expect."

The company's storm plan includes mobilizing employees to handle increased customer calls, to quickly evaluate storm damage, to coordinate line crew and equipment mobilization, to coordinate materials required for repairs, and to arrange meals and lodging for out-of-town workers.

Progress Energy works to minimize storm impacts year-round through preventive maintenance, including trimming of trees around the company's 6,000 miles of transmission lines and 60,000 miles of electric distribution lines. Wind-blown trees and limbs are the leading cause of power outages during storms.

Customers and media can find outage information on Progress Energy's Web site 24 hours a day at www.progress-energy.com/outagemap . During major events such as storms, the map will be updated several times a day.

The quickest way to report an outage during a storm is to call the automated outage-reporting system at 1-800-419-6356. For the latest information, visit Progress Energy's storm site online at www.progress-energy.com/storm .

Progress Energy, headquartered inRaleigh, N.C., is a Fortune 250 energy company with more than 21,000 megawatts of generation capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues. The company will observe a century of operation in 2008. Progress Energy includes two major utilities that serve 3.1 million customers in the Carolinas andFlorida. Progress Energy is the 2006 recipient of the Edison Electric Institute's Edison Award, the industry's highest honor, in recognition of its operational excellence. The company also is the first utility to receive the prestigious J.D. Power and Associates Founder's Award for customer service. Progress Energy serves two fast-growing areas of the country, and the company is pursuing a balanced approach to meeting the future energy needs of the region. That balance includes increased energy efficiency programs, investments in renewable energy technologies and a state-of-the-art electricity system. For more information about Progress Energy, visit the company's Web site at www.progress-energy.com .

SOURCE Progress Energy Carolinas

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