News
Nuclear Siren Testing Scheduled April 1 Around Robinson Nuclear Plant
- Five- to 30-second quarterly test planned between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
- No public action required
HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Duke Energy and county officials will test the outdoor warning sirens around the Robinson Nuclear Plant between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
Why It Matters
To ensure they are functioning properly, sirens will sound for five to 30 seconds. Anyone who hears a siren during scheduled testing does not need to take action.- During testing, some sirens may be tested more than once. Follow-up testing after siren maintenance may be required after 5 p.m.
- Because this is a test, local broadcasting stations will not interrupt regular programming to broadcast Emergency Alert System (EAS) messages. If there was a real emergency requiring the sirens to be sounded, local radio and television stations would broadcast information to the public.
By The Numbers
Duke Energy owns and maintains a network of sirens within 10 miles of each of its nuclear plants, including 59 sirens around the Robinson Nuclear Plant.
More info: Testing is performed in cooperation with emergency management officials in Chesterfield, Darlington and Lee counties, who are responsible for sounding the sirens. Additional details about outdoor warning sirens and nuclear emergency preparedness are available at duke-energy.com/NuclearEP.
Zoom out: Robinson Nuclear Plant is located on Lake Robinson near Hartsville, S.C., and provides 759 megawatts of reliable energy to the grid – enough to power more than 569,000 homes.
Duke Energy Progress
Duke Energy Progress, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 13,800 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 28,000-square-mile service area in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. The company’s electric utilities serve 8.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 55,100 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.
Duke Energy is executing an ambitious energy transition, keeping customer reliability and value at the forefront as it builds a smarter energy future. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including natural gas, nuclear, renewables and energy storage.
More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition.