RALEIGH — February 6, 1996, 3:22 pm, EST

After a bitter weekend ice storm sent thousands of North Carolinians into powerless situations, most residents gratefully find themselves power-full.

Across a wide swath of the state, lights are on, refrigerators and freezers operate with a reassuring hum -- and clothes and dishes can be washed at the flick of a switch.

That's the good news. The not-so-good is that many people are still waiting for electricity to be restored. Duke Power reports that 120,000 customers statewide are still without power. CP&L says it has reduced its outage to 30 homes, primarily in the Black Mountain area of Buncombe County.

As testament to the dangers all line repair people face in such storms, a Charlotte cable television worker died yesterday. Twenty-four-year-old Jeffrey Vanasek was working with crews to restore power, when, witnesses say, he walked across a lawn and came in contact with a downed line.

Vanasek had volunteered to work yesterday...his day off.