Duke Power says the worst winter storm to hit North Carolina in decades has caused for more power outages than when Hurricane Hugo ripped through the region in 1989. Of the utility's 2.1 million customers, 1.2 million are without electricity. That's 57 percent. The utility says it could be days before electricity is restored.
Duke reported 726,600 customers without power in North Carolina. In Charlotte, 225,000 customers were without power. Another 89,500 Duke customers in Durham also had no electricity.
Carolina Power and Light reports a peak of 466,000 customers without service, most of those in the Triangle area. CP&L's worst natural disaster was Hurricane Fran in 1996, which knocked out power to 791,000 customers.
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