Salisbury residents, businesses brace for planned power outage Saturday

SALISBURY, N.C. — Some residents and businesses in Salisbury will not have power for a majority of their Saturday, Duke Energy told customers on Thursday.

According to a social media post from Duke Energy, the planned outage is expected to last from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9.

Approximately 1,000 customers will be impacted, including many businesses.

‘That money is gone’

LA Murph’s Fine Cooking is sandwiched between Catawba College and Livingstone College along West Innes Street and Statesville Boulevard.

“That’s a very scary thing when you hear you’re going to be without electricity,” said owner Laura Murph.

She has been in business for 16 years.

“The most important thing is we need refrigeration to keep our foods cold and fresh,” Murph said. “And without electricity, that’s impossible.”

Murph said some businesses in the area plan to close.

She says she’ll miss out on the tourists and regulars who come through on Saturdays for breakfast and lunch.

“That money is gone,” she said.

Murph’s main concern is a catering order she has for 250 people on Sunday.

There is only way they’ll get it done, she told Channel 9.

“Work during the middle of the night,” Murph said.

The power outage may also impact traffic signals.

The company asks that drivers treat intersections without a working traffic signal like an all-way stop.

The power company planned the “emergency scheduled” outage to replace transmission infrastructure.

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