According to Duke Energy, one of the pieces of power infrastructure that sustained the most damage after Hurricane Helene is now operational.
The substation at Biltmore Village, which provides power to 7,000 customers, was destroyed when the Swannanoa River flooded its banks. Substations take power that’s traveled for miles and changes the voltage so that the electricity that can be used in homes and businesses.
Duke Energy had to install a temporary substation while crews worked to repair the original.
According to Logan Stewart, a spokesperson with Duke Energy the substation has two tiers, the top portion is back up and running and able to serve local power needs, but crews will continue to repair the bottom portion.
“Then we will be able to even more reliably power that area, you know, make room for more businesses to come in, more people to come in, and things like that,” she said.
The temporary substation has been uninstalled and will be traveling back down I-40 to go into storage. It’s expected to travel through the Statesville area late Monday morning. It could cause traffic delays.
Stewart said there are other three other temporary substations still in operation in western North Carolina. Duke Energy prioritized the Biltmore Village repairs as that station had the most damage.
Repairs continue across the region, nine months later.
“During Helene, Duke Energy replaced 14,000 power poles, 8 million feet of wire,” Stewart said.
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