“Today is going to be a better day.” – Power Outage Update for Friday 8:30 a.m.

As of Friday morning, three additional generators have arrived in Waves and one additional generator has arrived in Avon to assist with providing power to Hatteras Island.

Three more generators are scheduled to arrive on the island as well, with the furthest ones coming from Jacksonville, Florida. In total, the island will have nine generators which will help to ease the rolling blackout schedule.

“It’s going to improve it greatly,” said Laura Ertle, Director of Public Relations for Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative. “Today is going to be a better day. We still need people to conserve, but there is going to be more power available today.”

It is also possible that Hatteras Island villages could have uninterrupted service once all generators are in place.

“As long as people conserve, we may be able to have uninterrupted service,” said Ertle. “But that means no air conditioners.”

Residents and visitors can run refrigerators, run fans, take a shower, etc., but are asked to keep the air conditioners off.

Overnight, the tri-villages and Avon operated on a rotating blackout schedule, however Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative (CHEC) crews had difficulty in bringing the portable generators on-line with the current load in those villages. CHEC 
crews worked through the night to reduce the load and bring the generators on-line. 

Crews at the Bonner Bridge are also excavating the site of the faulty transmission cable today to get a better idea of how long repairs will take. “We’re hoping to have that information today,” said Ertle. “Once they put eyes on it, that’s 
when we’ll get an answer to the question of [how long].”

Residents and visitors should also note that while there is an evacuation for non-residents underway on Ocracoke Island, there are no plans for a mandatory evacuation of Hatteras Island at this time.

“The bridge is open, and the island is open,” said Ertle. “There is no talk of a Dare County evacuation.”