Helene Friday (Oct. 4) update: 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 367,000 consumers statewide in the week since Helene tore through the Palmetto State.
More than 86% of the 425,000 cooperative members who lost power were back online as of 2:30 p.m. Friday.
About 6.4% of the entire cooperative statewide system – roughly 58,000 meters – remains 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.”
Director of Information Technology at Edisto Electric Cooperative
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