Power outage
A downed line — sparking, touching anything, or anyone in contact with one: call 911 right away and stay well back. Treat every line as live and dangerous, even one that looks dead, per Duke Energy’s own safety guidance.
Figure out your provider before you report an outage: Duke Energy, Haywood EMC (a member-owned co-op, mostly rural areas), or — only inside Waynesville town limits — the town’s own electric department. Not sure which? check a past bill.
Duke Energy customers: report through the automated line, app, text, or website below.
Haywood EMC customers: call the co-op directly below — skip their website contact form, it isn’t monitored around the clock.
Waynesville electric customers: call Public Works below during business hours; after hours and on holidays, the town routes calls through its police non-emergency line — see that card’s notes.
What to expect: restoration goes by scope, not by who called first — a whole-neighborhood outage gets worked before a single house.
Who to call
3 offices can be the right one, depending on the details above.
Duke Energy — Report a Power Outage
- Report an Outage (automated line): 800-769-3766
Also reportable by texting OUT to 57801, through the Duke Energy mobile app, or at duke-energy.com/outages. The exact outage-line digits weren't extractable from Duke's own rendered page (they sit behind a JS click-to-reveal on Duke's Customer Service page); this number is corroborated by Haywood County Government's own public post naming this same number and text code for residents (see sources). Duke Energy is one of three electric providers with customers in Haywood County, alongside Haywood EMC and — inside Waynesville town limits only — the Town of Waynesville's own municipal electric department (see Waynesville Public Works, which also covers after-hours routing). Not sure who your provider is? Check a past bill, or see Haywood EMC's coverage note.
Haywood EMC — Report a Power Outage
- Report an Outage (toll-free): 800-951-6088
- Waynesville Headquarters: 828-452-2281
376 Grindstone Road, Waynesville, NC 28785
Haywood EMC is a member-owned electric cooperative, not Duke Energy — confirmed to serve parts of Haywood County (plus Buncombe, Transylvania, Jackson, Madison, and Macon counties in NC, and Oconee County SC and Rabun County GA) per Carolina Country's cooperative directory. It does not cover the whole county — rural/outlying areas typically, vs. Duke Energy or (inside town limits) Waynesville's own municipal electric department elsewhere in the county. Do not use Haywood EMC's website contact form to report an outage — it's not monitored 24/7; call the toll-free number instead.
Waynesville Public Works
- Main: 828-456-3706
- Utility Billing — Start/Stop Service (Finance Dept., Hazelwood Office): 828-456-3515
Monday–Friday, 7:00 AM–4:00 PM
129 Legion Drive, Waynesville, NC 28786
Handles residential/commercial trash, recycling, and bulk/yard-waste collection inside town limits. Collection day depends on where you live in town — call to confirm yours. Curbside trash must be out by 7:00 AM on your collection day; bulky items and yard waste follow a separate posted pickup calendar, not your regular weekly trash day. This Main number is also Water/Sewer Maintenance's line for leaks, outages, and low pressure — the Town maintains water/sewer lines only up to the meter or tap; beyond that is the property owner's job. Starting or stopping water/sewer/electric service (new applications, not maintenance) goes through the separate Utility Billing number above at the Finance Dept.'s Hazelwood Office, 280 Georgia Avenue — bring photo ID and a lease or closing-statement copy. After hours or on a holiday, Water/Sewer Maintenance issues route through the Waynesville Police non-emergency line, 828-456-5363.
Related questions
Every office on one page
It happens: you call, and it turns out to be someone else's job. The cheat sheet puts every number on this site in one place, grouped by who runs it, so the next one to try is right there.
Sources: duke-energy.com[1][2] , x.com , waynesvillenc.gov[1][2][3][4][5] , haywoodemc.com , carolinacountry.com