North Raleigh Today

Duke Energy Florida has announced that its battery facility in Micanopy, Alachua County, is now equipped to provide backup power during storms. This 8.25-megawatt lithium-based facility can serve approximately 800 customers for up to eight hours by disconnecting from the electric grid and operating independently, a process known as "islanding."

The Micanopy battery site began service in August 2022 but has only been functioning with this new capability since January 2025. Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president, explained, “Basically, an ‘islanded’ battery facility is to an entire community what a standard generator is to a single home or business.”

Duke Energy Florida aims for most of its six battery facilities in the state to have island mode capabilities by 2026. The company serves two million customers across 35 counties and continues investing in grid resilience. To date, more than 40,000 power poles have been upgraded to concrete or steel from wood, and half of the primary power lines are now underground.

Furthermore, over three-quarters of Duke Energy Florida's customers benefit from self-healing technology that quickly addresses outages and reroutes power efficiently. During the 2024 hurricane season alone, this technology saved more than 300 million outage minutes.

Duke Energy Florida operates under Duke Energy Corporation which supplies electricity to several states including North Carolina and South Carolina. The company holds substantial energy capacity and focuses on transitioning towards cleaner energy solutions while maintaining customer reliability.

For further information about Duke Energy’s initiatives or contact details for Aly Raschid, visit duke-energy.com.