Cary, North Carolina Power Outage Today

How reliable is Duke Energy service in Cary?

Duke Energy is an investor-owned utility with 1,616,285 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.69 interruptions and 1,803 minutes (about 30 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 17.8 hours.

About 92% of that time came on major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately. On ordinary days the average falls to 141 minutes. A handful of severe-weather days, not everyday faults, set this utility’s year.

The long average outage is the notable figure: when the lights went out for Duke Energy customers, they stayed out for about 17.8 hours on average, which is long enough to spoil refrigerated food and strain medical needs.

For comparison, North Carolina as a whole averaged 1,441 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Duke Energy above the state average.

Among the 44 utilities in North Carolina with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Duke Energy ranks 41st for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 6% of the 926 utilities of that size reported more outage minutes in 2024.

These are the figures the utility itself reported to the US Energy Information Administration (Form EIA-861, 2024) and describe the whole service territory, not one street. Your own address can be better or worse.

Storm season and outages in Cary

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 690 storm reports for Wake County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (349), flash flood (172), hail (130), and heavy rain (20). The busiest full year was 2020 with 118 reports and the quietest was 2017 with 23, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in July (147 since 2015), followed by August and May. October is outside those three months, so an outage now is less likely to be weather-related.

NOAA’s own narratives name power outages in 48 storm episodes in Wake County since 2015, most often in July. That count is a floor, since the database records outages only when a spotter or agency mentions them.

What the most common storm types in Cary do to the grid:

• Hail. Hail rarely cuts power by itself, but it often arrives with the wind and lightning that do, and it breaks solar panels, windshields and exposed utility equipment.
• Thunderstorm wind. Straight-line wind pushes trees and limbs into distribution lines. These outages are usually local, a street or a neighborhood at a time, and crews clear them circuit by circuit.
• Flash flood. Floodwater reaches ground-level transformers, meters and low-lying substations. Utilities may shut power off ahead of the water on purpose, and wading near flooded equipment can electrocute.

Storm reports that name Cary

Within Wake County, 24 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Cary as their location or in their description: hail (9), thunderstorm wind (8), flash flood (6), and heavy rain (1). That is about 3% of the county’s reports, so most of the county’s weather history happened elsewhere. Reports naming Cary are most common in June. The busiest full year was 2023 with 6.

Who a power outage hits hardest in Cary

55.1% of occupied homes in Cary are heated with piped natural gas, and 43.3% with electricity (US 41.3% electric). A gas furnace still needs electricity for its blower and ignition, so a long winter outage leaves these homes cold too, though a gas supply stays on when the grid fails. Never heat a home with an oven, grill or camp stove indoors.

Residents aged 65 or older are 14.1% of the population in Cary, below the US share of 17.2% and 7.9% report a disability (US 13.3%). These are the households most likely to depend on powered medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines and refrigerated medicine. If someone in your home does, ask Duke Energy whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 3.9% of the housing in Cary was built before 1970 (US 35.5%), so most homes are newer and more of the local lines are likely to be buried or recently replaced.

Median household income in Cary is $134,905, above the North Carolina figure of $72,388, and home generators and batteries are correspondingly more common. If a neighbor runs one, keep the exhaust away from every window and door, including yours.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 (housing, heating fuel, age and disability tables).

Backup power and electricity use in Cary

The average Duke Energy home used about 1,006 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.4 kW around the clock, and paid about 15.5 cents per kWh (14.1 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $156 a month.

Keeping only the essentials on (a refrigerator, router, a few lights and phone chargers, about 400 watts) through an outage that lasts the average about 17.8 hours takes about 7.1 kWh. That is more than a portable battery holds, so a home battery system or a generator with a fuel supply for a day or two is the realistic option.

A generator must never run indoors, in a garage or near a window; generator and food-safety rules are in the power outage guide linked below.

If the power is out in Cary

About 174,721 people live in Cary, the 7th largest of the 10 North Carolina cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Duke Energy’s outage map for an estimate. If neighbors have power and you do not, report it again: the fault may be on the line to your house alone, which is a separate repair.

Cary power outage map

Duke Energy’s outage map has the official restoration estimate for your address; the count above comes from residents. Food and generator safety: power outage guide.

Cary power outage questions