An "equipment issue" the day before Thanksgiving led to hundreds of people experiencing varying electrical, power, and appliance issues in Creedmoor ahead of a winter storm.
According to Duke Energy, two power lines in the Creedmoor area began sagging and made contact, causing an outage that affected around 2,300 customers for hours. A spokesperson for Duke Energy said the large number was due to the power lines affected being larger than usual.
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Several Creedmoor residents took to social media to say the outage affected there HVAC units, with some needing their heating systems replaced and claiming Spectrum needed to replace cable boxes inside affected homes and apartments.
Dorenda Michalina describes what happened at her home.
"We started smelling something burning, and we immediately went to the surge protectors and found one that was completely blown, and it turned black," she said.
Michalina's son and his family are also experiencing issues. They are staying at her house while their HVAC is repaired.
Michalina's daughter-in-law said it's been hard on her family.
"It's been challenging, having to go back and forth to a cold house to get clothes and school stuff and her newborn outfits and diapers and things like that," Jessica Michalina said.
The issues with heating could pose a problem for many affected, as a storm on Friday morning is expected to bring bitterly cold temperatures and possible snow and sleet. WRAL meteorologists made Friday a Weather Alert Day due to the snow and sleet potential.
Residents WRAL News spoke with on Thursday said it's taken a lot of their time on Thursday ahead of the storm.
"It's not easy when you do it mostly by yourself," said Mary Avery, a Creedmoor resident. "One of my sons did guide me through the kind of heating system I should get. You feel like you're totally responsible for the other stuff that goes along with it."
A spokesperson said that while they were not able to speak on any one customer's situation with appliances that may have been affected by the outage, they have made temporary repairs to the lines and have permanent repair work scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 11.
The spokesperson also said people facing high energy costs for repairs can submit a claim online, but they weren't able to say how likely it is for the cost to be covered. According to Duke Energy, it will be treated on a case-by-case basis.