Duke Energy commits $500,000 to boost local storm preparedness initiatives in North Carolina

PRNewswire 27-Feb-2025 11:06 AM

• Grants will support storm preparedness and natural disaster readiness
• Applications will be accepted through April 25 for eligible organizations

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy Foundation today announced a new commitment of $500,000 to support storm preparedness efforts in local communities across North Carolina. Eligible organizations are invited to apply for grants of up to $25,000.

"The impact of Hurricane Helene last fall showed us the importance of strong collaboration between emergency management agencies, first responders and nonprofit organizations when it comes to natural disasters," said Kendal Bowman, Duke Energy North Carolina state president. "We're proud to support storm preparedness efforts in the communities we serve as they continue to grow and see new opportunities to bolster resilience to severe weather events."

These grants will support various storm preparedness and natural disaster readiness initiatives, including but not limited to:

• Programs facilitating collaboration across agencies, sectors and communities for disaster preparedness and response.
• Innovative planning initiatives for local communities to prepare for natural disasters and extreme weather.
• Local storm preparedness trainings, materials, kits and other community engagement and education initiatives.
• Specialized training for first responders for natural disaster scenarios.

This is a long-standing priority for Duke Energy Foundation, which has awarded nearly $5.6 million to support the state's storm preparedness since 2020. Recent examples of storm preparedness grants from the Foundation benefiting North Carolina communities include funding for the City of Wilmington to install new flood gauges, a City of Raleigh initiative to distribute weather radios to vulnerable neighborhoods, a public safety tethered drone program announced by Person County, and the purchase of specialized equipment for the Town of Harrisburg's swift water rescue team, among many others.

Applications will be accepted until April 25 at 5 p.m. ET. Interested organizations can apply through the Duke Energy Foundation's website.

Duke Energy Foundation
Duke Energy Foundation provides more than $30 million annually in philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The Foundation is funded by Duke Energy shareholders.

Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. The company's electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke Energy is executing an ambitious energy transition, keeping customer reliability and value at the forefront as it builds a smarter energy future. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including natural gas, nuclear, renewables and energy storage.

More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition.

Contact: Garrett Poorman
24-Hour: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DE_GarrettP

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SOURCE Duke Energy