2006 may have kicked off with the booms of a freak thunderstorm, but don't forget that 2005 ended with the crackles of an ice storm. 

After many miles of Christmas travels, South Carolina's upstate residence are cleaning up the mess left by December's ice storm.  I've been chopping and stacking fire wood in my back yard, hauling away brush, and raking up thousands of little twigs.  While I've been working in my yard, I can't help but to think of the jobs Duke Power has in the region.

My hat goes off to the folks at Duke Power.  When the storm hit, limbs hit two seperate power lines in my yard.  Since I still had power to my home, I waited a few days before calling Duke.  When I made the call, the operator was very pleasant, efficient, and left me with a sense of confidence that Duke Power would take care of the problem.  Within 24 hours of my call, Duke Power had left two voice messages asking if my power was fine since a team had been to my home.  They actually called me a third time before I could check and return their calls.

More than 683,000 homes, only 13,000 fewer than during Hugo, were without power just before Christmas.  Over 350,000 of those residence without electricity were Duke Power custormers.  According to Theopolis Holeman, Senior Vice President of Duke Power, "The major areas affected are in upstate SouthCarolina."  Greenville County and Spartanburg County were hit hard, with 131,000 and 80,000 (respectively) Duke Power customers in the dark. 

During a time when some criticize Duke Power's efforts, let me say thank you for a job well done.