Progress Energy Ready for Potential Carolinas Landfall From Hanna

The forecast for Tropical Storm/Hurricane Hanna continues to change, and Progress Energy Carolinas is prepared to respond quickly to any damage and outages caused by the storm in the company’s service area.

Progress Energy Carolinas officials are continuing to monitor the potential path of the storm and implementing early phases of the company’s comprehensive storm plan. The storm is expected to begin a northwesterly advance Thursday and to strengthen to hurricane status before making landfall. The latest forecast calls for landfall early Saturday morning around the North Carolina/South Carolina coastal border.

Such a track — or a variation east or west — would result in strong winds and heavy rain in portions of Progress Energy Carolinas’ service area.

“Hanna has been difficult to forecast accurately so far,” said Hershell McCarty, Progress Energy Carolinas storm coordinator. “That’s why it is critical for us to plan for a number of possible scenarios. Our comprehensive storm plan has been updated and refined with each storm over the years, and that helps to ensure that we are prepared to respond quickly and safely to whatever Mother Nature brings.”

As announced earlier, Progress Energy will not release company or local contract line or tree crews to assist in Hurricane Gustav restoration until the company’s own service area is clear of storm impacts. Meanwhile, the company continues to monitor the progress of Tropical Storms Ike and Josephine in the Atlantic Ocean.

The company’s storm plan includes mobilizing employees to handle increased customer calls, to quickly evaluate storm damage, to coordinate line crew and equipment mobilization, to coordinate materials required for repairs, and to arrange meals and lodging for out-of-town workers.

Progress Energy works to minimize storm impacts year-round through preventive maintenance, including trimming of trees around the company’s 6,000 miles of transmission lines and 60,000 miles of electric distribution lines. Wind-blown trees and limbs are the leading cause of power outages during storms.

Customers and media can find outage information on Progress Energy’s Web site 24 hours a day at www.progress-energy.com/outagemap . During major events such as storms, the map will be updated several times a day.

The quickest way to report an outage during a storm is to call the automated outage-reporting system at 1-800-419-6356. For the latest information, and for tips on how to prepare for a storm and cope safely with its effects, visit Progress Energy’s storm site online at www.progress-energy.com/storm

Progress Energy, headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., is a Fortune 250 energy company with more than 21,000 megawatts of generation capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues. The company will observe a century of operation in 2008. Progress Energy includes two major utilities that serve 3.1 million customers in the Carolinas and Florida. Progress Energy is the 2006 recipient of the Edison Electric Institute’s Edison Award, the industry’s highest honor, in recognition of its operational excellence. The company also is the first utility to receive the prestigious J.D. Power and Associates Founder’s Award for customer service. Progress Energy serves two fast-growing areas of the country, and the company is pursuing a balanced approach to meeting the future energy needs of the region. That balance includes increased energy efficiency programs, investments in renewable energy technologies and a state-of-the-art electricity system. For more information about Progress Energy, visit the company’s Web site at www.progress-energy.com