Duke's solution worked because it connected local service continuity with a broader case for renewable capacity, reliability, and resilience.¹

WorkedDid not

Response model

Solar-plus-battery microgrid¹

Traditional upgrades alone¹

Crisis service

Maintained town-center power¹

Substation unavailable after flooding¹

Technology test

Solar PV and storage performed in extreme conditions¹

Conventional connection could not serve the site¹

Approval case

Value shown for residents and wider customers¹

Local benefit viewed in isolation¹

Duke got to the solution by treating the microgrid as both a community resource and a grid asset. The system used solar PV and battery storage to maintain power when flooding had shut down the Marshall Substation.¹ Its activation on October 2, 2024, gave the design a real operating test rather than leaving its resilience value theoretical.¹

The regulatory path reinforced that dual purpose. Duke gained approval by showing benefits to Hot Springs residents and to the wider customer base.¹ The case demonstrates how crisis leadership can make a new technology credible by linking performance in the moment with a durable explanation of capacity, reliability, and resilience.

Duke Energy microgrid kept Hot Springs powered for 143.5 hours during Hurricane Helene