Duke Energy: 'Water and power do not mix'

VIGO COUNTY, INDIANA - Duke Energy urges residential customers to be patient as county and city officials complete safety inspections of flooded properties in southern Vigo County.

As of 5 p.m. June 9, about 350 flood victims still were without power, according to Rick Burger, district manager for Duke Energy. "Everything on our side is ready to go," Burger said, adding that lines had been repaired, but because of so much water in the area, conditions might not be safe to turn the power back on.

"There could be damage in there even when the water goes down," Burger said.

Areas affected include the Marywood subdivision near South Seventh Street and Springhill Drive and the subdivision just to the south of that area. "We are working with city and county inspectors," Burger said.

"They've got to give us a green tag saying it's safe... for every inspector, we've got one or two people (from Duke Energy) turning meters back on."

"We really appreciate people, how they've teamed up in this community, the other utilities, the Sheriff's Department, emergency management people - we've all hopefully worked together as a team... I also want to compliment the city for stepping forward and doing such a great job. They've added additional people to deal with the situationÂ….

"We just haven't seen anything like this before," Burger said.

In addition to ongoing issues in Vigo County, Duke Energy is dealing with flooding of its Edwardsport plant in Knox County, Burger said.

Currently, the utility is sandbagging to save its switchyard for that plant. Again, Burger urged customers in Vigo County to remain patient.

"We just want to be sure it's a safe condition," he said. "Water and electricity do not mix." "We're making progress," he said.