Duke Energy Foundation has awarded the Town of Leland a $50,000 Powerful Communities grant for the purchase of a mobile radio communication system.
The Town is one of 65 organizations throughout North Carolina to collectively receive a portion of the more than $1.1 million in grants from the Duke Energy Foundation’s Powerful Communities program. The $50,000 Strategic Impact grant will fund a Town-operated mobile communication system that will serve as reliable back-up communication during hurricanes and other emergencies, as well as enhance the public safety of its’ citizens at large community events.
The need for a Town-operated mobile communication system was identified last year during Hurricane Florence, when storm conditions impacted cellular service communication.
“The Town of Leland strives to provide proper safety measures and adequate equipment to allow all departments to effectively perform daily tasks and handle major events, such as hurricanes,” said Dawn Friedman, Deputy Finance Officer for the Town of Leland. “A Town-operated radio communication system will allow communication across Town, to Leland’s fire stations and back to Town Hall, regardless of the weather conditions.”
“This particular type of cross-communication between various departments, Friedman added, “will be utilized during concerts, festivals and other large community events to streamline operations and ensure citizens’ and employees’ safety.””
“Duke Energy stands with our communities as they recover from the devastation of recent storms, and we want to help them become more resilient to the impacts of future storms,” said Stephen De May, North Carolina president, Duke Energy.
The Duke Energy Foundation’s Powerful Communities Program makes strategic investments to build powerful communities where natural resources thrive, students can excel and a talented workforce drives economic prosperity for all. The Foundation annually funds more than $30 million to communities throughout Duke Energy’s 70-state service area.
ABOUT DUKE ENERGY FOUNDATION
The Duke Energy Foundation provides philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy’s customers live and work. The foundation contributes more than $30 million annually in charitable gifts, and is funded by Duke Energy shareholder dollars. More information about the foundation and its Powerful Communities program can be found on Duke Energy's website.
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 125 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 30,000 people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts through its regulated utilities, and 3,000 megawatts through its nonregulated Duke Energy Renewables unit.
Duke Energy is transforming its customers’ experience, modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy future for the people and communities it serves. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure unit’s regulated utilities serve approximately 7.7 million retail electric customers in six states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure unit distributes natural gas to more than 1.6 million customers in five states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The Duke Energy Renewables unit operates wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S., as well as energy storage and microgrid projects.
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For more information, contact Dawn Friedman, Town of Leland Deputy Finance Officer, (910) 408-3015 or dfriedman@townofleland.com.