Photo by Erin P. Nichols
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina’s electric cooperatives have more than 3,200 line workers laboring around the clock to turn the lights back on after Hurricane Helene, a workforce that includes crews from at least 23 states as well as mutual aid crews from eight fellow S.C. co-ops that have already finished their restoration work.
With their help, S.C. electric co-ops have now restored power to more than 363,000 consumers statewide in the week since Helene tore through the Palmetto State.
More than 85.4% of the 425,000 cooperative members who lost power were back online as of 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 4.
Less than 7% of the cooperative statewide system – about 62,000 meters – remain without power, with most of those remaining outages located in the hard-hit Upstate and along the Palmetto State’s western border.
There, Helene has proven one of the most destructive storms in state history. Parts of the co-op system still remain inaccessible due to downed trees and debris. Large stretches of the co-op system suffered damage beyond repair and must be rebuit.
At least 3,300 snapped co-op power poles – and counting – will need to be replaced, and it can take up to four hours for a four-man crew to replace a single pole.
Cooperatives ask that their consumers continue to prepare for extended outages. While most of the remaining outages will be restored in the next few days, the most remote, hard-hit areas could be without power for more than a week.
“My heart goes out to the South Carolinians who have lost their loved ones, friends, homes and belongings due to this horrific storm,” said Mike Couick, CEO of the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina. “Our folks are doing everything they can to help by restoring power as quickly as possible to the communities that remain out. Our work won’t stop until the very last light is back on.”
A few key points on the ongoing restoration effort:
• Co-ops helping co-ops: Every S.C. cooperative has line crews working to restore power to South Carolinians. Crews from co-ops that are back online are now working to restore power for their fellow co-ops in the Upstate.
• They include: Berkeley Electric, Black River Electric, Fairfield Electric, Horry Electric, Lynches River Electric, Santee Electric, Tri-County Electric and York Electric Cooperative.
• Two other S.C. co-ops – Edisto Electric and Palmetto Electric – are finishing up work on their own systems and plan to send mutual aid crews within the next 24-48 hours.
• Santee Cooper crews also are assisting at least three co-ops in their restoration efforts.
• The cavalry is here: Additional crews are helping from at least 23 states: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
• Truckloads of equipment: The cooperatives’ materials supplier, CEEUS, is delivering 20-30 tractor trailer truckloads of equipment and supplies to cooperative crews across the state every day – a volume of materials that rivals the response to Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
• Transmission back online: All co-op substations and delivery points are re-energized thanks to the hard work of the cooperatives’ transmission providers, including Santee Cooper and Duke Energy. • More than 80 substations were knocked offline by transmission outages caused by Helene.
The cooperatives are urging the public to exercise caution and patience:
• Stay away from downed power lines.
• Use extreme care with portable generators, keeping them outdoors and at least 20 feet from doors, windows and vent openings.
• Slow down and be mindful of roadside line crews working to restore power.
• Be on guard against scams. If you receive a suspicious call from someone claiming to be a co-op representative, hang up immediately and call your co-op.
For the latest updates on power restoration efforts, please visit ecsc.org or follow us @SCcooperatives.
The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc. is the state association of independent, member-owned electric cooperatives. Nearly 2 million South Carolinians in all 46 counties use power provided by 18 electric cooperatives to 800,000 accounts. Together, electric cooperatives operate the state’s largest electric power system with 75,000 miles of power line. Find more information at www.ecsc.org.