• One year later, company recognized for rapid power restoration following Hurricane Milton
• Vast majority of 1 million total outages were restored within 96 hours

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Duke Energy Florida today was announced as an Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Emergency Response Award recipient. Presented to EEI member companies twice a year, the Emergency Response Awards recognize recovery and assistance efforts of electric companies following service disruptions caused by extreme weather or other natural events. The winners were chosen by a panel of judges following an international nomination process. The awards were presented during EEI's Fall Board of Directors and Chief Executives Meeting.

"America's electric companies and their dedicated workforces work tirelessly throughout the year to strengthen the energy grid and to restore power - and peace of mind - for American families and businesses after extreme weather events and natural disasters," said EEI President and CEO Drew Maloney. "EEI is proud to recognize Duke Energy Florida for its extraordinary response efforts following Hurricane Milton. This recovery award reflects Duke Energy Florida and its storm response team's incredible commitment to the customers and communities they serve."

Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm on Oct. 9, 2024. Approximately 96 hours later, after mobilizing 16,000 resources, Duke Energy Florida restored 95% of the 1 million reported power outages. As part of its response, the company replaced damaged equipment, including 1,640 power poles, 1,350 transformers and nearly 1 million feet of wire and cable.

Additionally, Duke Energy Florida's self-healing technology, which extends to about 80% of the company's customers, saved 3.3 million hours of power outages during this storm by automatically detecting outages and rerouting power to other lines.

"While Hurricane Milton was a devastating storm that left much of Florida's west-central coast in the dark, our team's strategic response helped get our customers' lights back on as quickly as possible, allowing them to focus on what really matters, like their families and businesses, and begin to pick up the pieces of their lives," said Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida storm director. "We know they depend on us for that, and it's a responsibility we take extremely seriously - not just during hurricane season, but all year long."

Duke Energy Florida reminds its customers that the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season is still ongoing and now is the time to prepare for any future storms. For more information and tips, please visit duke-energy.com/StormTips and download the Red Cross Emergency mobile app.

EEI

EEI is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Our members provide safe, reliable electricity for nearly 250 million Americans, and operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a whole, the electric power industry supports more than 7 million jobs in communities across the United States. In addition to our U.S. members, EEI has more than 50 international electric companies, with operations in more than 60 countries, as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members.

Duke Energy Florida

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 12,300 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 2 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.

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.

Duke Energy Contact: Aly Raschid
24-Hour: 800.559.3853

EEI Contact: Jeremy Ortiz
Office: 202.508.5652