Here you will find the latest power outage updates in South Carolina and North Carolina after Helene.**Live video above when available** Laurens Electric 8 p.m. Monday updateAs of Monday at 8 p.m., 4,183 of our members (or 6%) remain without power.600 line technicians and right of way workers continue to cut trees, replace broken power poles, and rebuild and repair the distribution lines that deliver power to streets, neighborhoods, and homes.By our best estimate, some members may remain without power through October 11. We’re providing this estimate so members still without power are able to plan for themselves and their families and will share more specific information as soon as it is available.Progress is steady but time consuming as crews still face significant challenges, especially in our hardest hit communities.As more of our system becomes energized, it is extremely important to stay away from downed power lines and anything they touch.While driving, please make way for crews working on roadsides, and don’t approach lineworkers while they’re on the job; it presents a safety hazard for them and the public and disrupts restoration work.Members who are dependent on medical equipment at home and are without power should contact the S.C. Department of Public Health at 1-855-472-3432 to find out if they are eligible for a medical needs shelter.We remain grateful for our members’ patience and the support of our community as we continue recovering from this natural disaster. Monday 6 p.m. update from FindEnergy.comAbbeville County, South Carolina – 2,094 out of 11,163 tracked meters (18.76%) are without power in Abbeville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – Greenville County, South Carolina – 6,481 out of 327,008 tracked meters (1.98%) are without power in Greenville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – Laurens County, South Carolina – 3,068 out of 35,862 tracked meters (8.56%) are without power in Laurens County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – Spartanburg County, South Carolina – 5,235 out of 174,734 tracked meters (3.00%) are without power in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – 3 p.m. update from FindEnergy.comBuncombe County, North Carolina – 64,442 out of 158,444 tracked meters (40.67%) are without power in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – 3 p.m. Blue Ridge Electric updateAs restoration efforts come to a close, there is the possibility a member may not have power while their surrounding neighbors do. Tropical Storm Helene brought severe damage to our area through downed lines, broken poles and uprooted trees. Some members may have had their weatherhead or meter box damaged outside of their home. The cooperative’s responsibility is for the service line and meter. If there has been damage to anything else, a member will need to contact a private electrician so that service can be restored to the home.Objects colored purple are the responsibility of the member in the attached graphic.Monday 2 p.m. update from FindEnergy.comAbbeville County, South Carolina – 1,786 out of 11,163 tracked meters (16.00%) are without power in Abbeville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – Greenville County, South Carolina – 9,360 out of 327,006 tracked meters (2.86%) are without power in Greenville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – Laurens County, South Carolina – 3,986 out of 35,861 tracked meters (11.12%) are without power in Laurens County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – Spartanburg County, South Carolina – 9,302 out of 174,734 tracked meters (5.32%) are without power in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – morning update from Dominion Energy: Dominion Energy estimates power will be restored to approximately 95 percent of customers across each county in its South Carolina service territory by 11 p.m. Wednesday. This includes Aiken, Edgefield and McCormick counties, which were among the areas most ravaged by Hurricane Helene. Crews continue to work around the clock to get the lights back on for the approximately 5,000 customers who were without power as of 10 a.m. Monday. Work is expected to continue through mid-week across the densely wooded terrain where Helene’s historic reach inland snapped thousands of trees, which brought down miles of poles and lines. The vastness of the damage has severely limited access for utility crews who have deployed tracked equipment, all-terrain vehicles, pontoon boats and helicopters to aid in the response. More than 4,000 Dominion Energy employees and additional out-of-state crews have worked nonstop in South Carolina since Helene destructively blew through. Since the start of the unprecedented recovery work, they have restored power to more than 440,000 customers. “I’ve worked many storms over my 36 years with the company, but I’ve never had this many linemen in such a confined geographic area,” said Keller Kissam, president of Dominion Energy South Carolina. “Of course, I’ve never seen an area busted in the chops like this one. The devastation is unbelievable. We are so appreciative of how Team South Carolina has rallied to recover from this destruction and opened their hearts by providing meals and space for our crews to sleep. We’re grateful for everyone’s prayers. When people do that for you, it makes you want to stay up 24 hours a day, seven days a week and give every ounce of measure that you have left in order to serve them.”Crews can only repair electric service up to a home’s point of connection. If a customer has any storm damage from the weatherhead down to its meter base, an electrician must repair it before Dominion Energy can reconnect power to the home. Having any required repairs completed before crews arrive can save time in restoring power.Monday morning update from Laurens Electric: As of Monday at 8:00 a.m., 6,105 of our members (or 9%) remain without power. We are in the most difficult and time-consuming phase of the restoration process. Although crews are making steady progress and continuing to restore power to more members each day, most of the remaining outages are isolated to circuits that serve streets and individual homes.Crews are focused on rebuilding and repairing the distribution lines that bring power to these members, and the hours we spend clearing one road and restoring one line ultimately benefits fewer people. That’s a big reason restoration numbers aren’t climbing as quickly as they did in the beginning of the restoration process. After assessing progress made up to this point, by our best estimate, members in these areas may remain without power through October 11. This timeframe doesn’t apply to everyone – this is an outside estimate. We’re providing this outside estimate so all members still without power are able to plan for themselves and their families. The co-op cannot provide a more specific estimated time of restoration yet but will share that information as soon as it is available.Our crews are working hard to repair the damage, but are still facing significant challenges, especially in the hardest hit areas. By our most recent assessment, we have 600 broken poles and counting. We’ve repaired approximately 300 so far. To add context, prior to this event, we experienced only 50 broken poles during the entirety of 2023 (corrected from 700 in earlier updates).Replacing broken poles typically takes 2-4 hours as crews must remove the old one, set the new one, and restring lines. However, crews in the field have reported it is taking hours to cut through trees and debris to reach equipment, making the process even longer. The co-op has 265 crews representing more than 640 line technicians and right-of-way workers operating now, including mutual aid workers from 17 states, and more are on the way.21 right-of-way crews, 11 skid steer crews, and 2 track hoe crews are working to remove downed trees from our infrastructure. They’re all working in rotating 16-hour shifts in all parts of our service area, cutting away trees, replacing poles, restringing distribution lines, rebuilding circuits, and making repairs in seven Upstate counties. The extensive damage to our system means there is still significant work to do before power is fully restored to every member. As more of our system becomes energized, it is extremely important to stay away from downed power lines and anything they touch. For the most up-to-date outage information, look for our updates on social media (Facebook, X, and Instagram). While driving, please make way for crews working on roadsides, and don’t approach lineworkers while they’re on the job; it presents a safety hazard for them and the public and disrupts restoration work. Members who are dependent on medical equipment at home and are without power should contact the S.C. Department of Public Health at 1-855-472-3432 to find out if they are eligible for a medical needs shelter. We remain grateful for our members’ understanding and patience as we respond to this emergency. Blue Ridge Electric Sunday night update: Approximately 2,600 Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative members had power restored Saturday, dropping the percentage without service to 2 percent. Thanks to the work of cooperative employees, mutual aid and contractors, Blue Ridge Electric has brought on significantly more members than originally projected by Monday.Over 62,000 members have had their power restored since Tropical Storm Helene arrived in the Upstate on September 27. At the time of this release, 1,507 members were without power. We have confirmed 911 broken poles in our system. Roughly 670 have been replaced.Below are the members restored Sunday by county:Anderson: 57Greenville: 361Oconee: 1,009Pickens: 1,205Below are the remaining members without power by county:Anderson: 13Greenville: 571Oconee: 207Pickens: 716We will continue to provide updates on Monday. My email did bounce from some accounts this afternoon due to media file sizes being too large to share. If you didn’t receive one, my apologies. See below for that information.***HIGHWAY 178/ROCKY BOTTOM REBUILD ESTIMATED TO TAKE A WEEK***It will take approximately one week to rebuild a three-phase circuit that serves just under 200 members of the Rocky Bottom community in Pickens County due to severe system damage.The current line cannot be salvaged. Just this morning, the Army National Guard was removing sagging trees on U.S. Highway 178 so crews could continue to work toward the North Carolina-South Carolina state line. Construction on a new line project will span approximately 2.5 miles. The public is advised to avoid this portion of Highway 178 so crews can work safely.Sunday evening update from FindEnergy.comCurrent outages:Counties:Abbeville County, South Carolina – 2,240 out of 11,163tracked meters (20.07%) are without power in Abbeville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – Greenville County, South Carolina – 18,144 out of 327,008tracked meters (5.55%) are without power in Greenville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – Laurens County, South Carolina – 6,225 out of 35,858tracked meters (17.36%) are without power in Laurens County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – Pickens County, South Carolina – 3,930 out of 58,666tracked meters (6.70%) are without power in Pickens County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – County, South Carolina – 17,214 out of 174,736tracked meters (9.85%) are without power in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – a.m. Sunday update from FindEnergy.comBuncombe County, North Carolina – 56,893 out of 158,444 tracked meters (35.91%) are without power in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – More information on Buncombe County and city of Asheville Helene recovery on this web page.Blue Ridge Electric Coop – 4,106 out of 73,098 tracked meters (5.62%) in South Carolina are without power – a.m. Sunday update from FindEnergy.comAbbeville County, South Carolina – 2,570 out of 11,163 tracked meters (23.02%) are without power in Abbeville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – Anderson County, South Carolina – 5,519 out of 115,571 tracked meters (4.78%) are without power in Anderson County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – Greenville County, South Carolina – 29,868 out of 327,013 tracked meters (9.13%) are without power in Greenville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – Laurens Commission of Public Works – 719 out of 5,469 tracked meters (13.15%) in South Carolina are without power – County, South Carolina – 1,404 out of 21,553 tracked meters (6.51%) are without power in Oconee County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – Pickens County, South Carolina – 5,176 out of 58,666 tracked meters (8.82%) are without power in Pickens County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – Spartanburg County, South Carolina – 26,369 out of 174,737 tracked meters (15.09%) are without power in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – a.m. Laurens Electric Sunday morning update:As of Sunday at 9:00 a.m., 9,090 members (or 14%) remain without power.We are in the most difficult phase of the rebuilding and restoration process.Although crews are making steady progress and continuing to restore power to more members each day, most of the remaining outages are isolated to circuits that serve streets, and individual homes, which is the last step in restoring power.After assessing progress made up to this point, by our best estimate, members in these areas may remain without power through October 11. This timeframe doesn’t apply to everyone – this is an outside estimate.We’re providing this outside estimate so all members still without power are able to plan for themselves and their families. Our crews are working hard to repair the damage, but are still facing significant challenges, especially in the hardest hit areas. By our most recent assessment, we have 600 broken poles and counting. We’ve repaired approximately 300 so far. To add context, prior to this event, we experienced 700 broken poles during the entirety of 2023. Replacing broken poles typically takes 2-4 hours as crews must remove the old one, set the new one, and restring lines. However, crews in the field have reported it is taking hours to cut through trees and debris to reach equipment, making the process even longer. The co-op has 265 crews representing more than 640 line technicians and right-of-way workers operating now, including mutual aid workers from 17 states, and more are on the way. 21 right-of-way crews, 11 skid steer crews, and 2 track hoe crews are working to remove downed trees from our infrastructure. They’re all working in rotating 16-hour shifts in all parts of our service area, cutting away trees, replacing poles, restringing distribution lines, rebuilding circuits, and making repairs in seven Upstate counties. The extensive damage to our system means there is still significant work to do before power is fully restored to every member. As more of our system becomes energized, it is extremely important to stay away from downed power lines and anything they touch. The co-op cannot provide more specific estimated time of restoration yet but will share that information as soon as it is available. For the most up-to-date outage information, look for our updates on social media (Facebook, X, and Instagram).While driving, please make way for crews working on roadsides, and don’t approach line workers while they’re on the job; it presents a safety hazard for them and the public and disrupts restoration work.Members who are dependent on medical equipment at home and are without power should contact the S.C. Department of Public Health at 1-855-472-3432 to find out if they are eligible for a medical needs shelter.
Here you will find the latest power outage updates in South Carolina and North Carolina after Helene.
**Live video above when available**
Laurens Electric 8 p.m. Monday update
As of Monday at 8 p.m., 4,183 of our members (or 6%) remain without power.
600 line technicians and right of way workers continue to cut trees, replace broken power poles, and rebuild and repair the distribution lines that deliver power to streets, neighborhoods, and homes.
By our best estimate, some members may remain without power through October 11.
We’re providing this estimate so members still without power are able to plan for themselves and their families and will share more specific information as soon as it is available.
Progress is steady but time consuming as crews still face significant challenges, especially in our hardest hit communities.
As more of our system becomes energized, it is extremely important to stay away from downed power lines and anything they touch.
While driving, please make way for crews working on roadsides, and don’t approach lineworkers while they’re on the job; it presents a safety hazard for them and the public and disrupts restoration work.
Members who are dependent on medical equipment at home and are without power should contact the S.C. Department of Public Health at 1-855-472-3432 to find out if they are eligible for a medical needs shelter.
We remain grateful for our members’ patience and the support of our community as we continue recovering from this natural disaster.
Monday 6 p.m. update from FindEnergy.com
Abbeville County, South Carolina – 2,094 out of 11,163 tracked meters (18.76%) are without power in Abbeville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Greenville County, South Carolina – 6,481 out of 327,008 tracked meters (1.98%) are without power in Greenville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Laurens County, South Carolina – 3,068 out of 35,862 tracked meters (8.56%) are without power in Laurens County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Spartanburg County, South Carolina – 5,235 out of 174,734 tracked meters (3.00%) are without power in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – https://findenergy.com/sc/spartanburg-county-electricity/power-outage/
Monday 3 p.m. update from FindEnergy.com
Buncombe County, North Carolina – 64,442 out of 158,444 tracked meters (40.67%) are without power in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Monday 3 p.m. Blue Ridge Electric update
As restoration efforts come to a close, there is the possibility a member may not have power while their surrounding neighbors do.
Tropical Storm Helene brought severe damage to our area through downed lines, broken poles and uprooted trees. Some members may have had their weatherhead or meter box damaged outside of their home. The cooperative’s responsibility is for the service line and meter. If there has been damage to anything else, a member will need to contact a private electrician so that service can be restored to the home.
Objects colored purple are the responsibility of the member in the attached graphic.
Monday 2 p.m. update from FindEnergy.com
Abbeville County, South Carolina – 1,786 out of 11,163 tracked meters (16.00%) are without power in Abbeville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Greenville County, South Carolina – 9,360 out of 327,006 tracked meters (2.86%) are without power in Greenville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Laurens County, South Carolina – 3,986 out of 35,861 tracked meters (11.12%) are without power in Laurens County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Spartanburg County, South Carolina – 9,302 out of 174,734 tracked meters (5.32%) are without power in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – https://findenergy.com/sc/spartanburg-county-electricity/power-outage/
Monday morning update from Dominion Energy:
Dominion Energy estimates power will be restored to approximately 95 percent of customers across each county in its South Carolina service territory by 11 p.m. Wednesday. This includes Aiken, Edgefield and McCormick counties, which were among the areas most ravaged by Hurricane Helene. Crews continue to work around the clock to get the lights back on for the approximately 5,000 customers who were without power as of 10 a.m. Monday. Work is expected to continue through mid-week across the densely wooded terrain where Helene’s historic reach inland snapped thousands of trees, which brought down miles of poles and lines. The vastness of the damage has severely limited access for utility crews who have deployed tracked equipment, all-terrain vehicles, pontoon boats and helicopters to aid in the response. More than 4,000 Dominion Energy employees and additional out-of-state crews have worked nonstop in South Carolina since Helene destructively blew through. Since the start of the unprecedented recovery work, they have restored power to more than 440,000 customers. “I’ve worked many storms over my 36 years with the company, but I’ve never had this many linemen in such a confined geographic area,” said Keller Kissam, president of Dominion Energy South Carolina. “Of course, I’ve never seen an area busted in the chops like this one. The devastation is unbelievable. We are so appreciative of how Team South Carolina has rallied to recover from this destruction and opened their hearts by providing meals and space for our crews to sleep. We’re grateful for everyone’s prayers. When people do that for you, it makes you want to stay up 24 hours a day, seven days a week and give every ounce of measure that you have left in order to serve them.”Crews can only repair electric service up to a home’s point of connection. If a customer has any storm damage from the weatherhead down to its meter base, an electrician must repair it before Dominion Energy can reconnect power to the home. Having any required repairs completed before crews arrive can save time in restoring power.
Monday morning update from Laurens Electric:
As of Monday at 8:00 a.m., 6,105 of our members (or 9%) remain without power.
We are in the most difficult and time-consuming phase of the restoration process. Although crews are making steady progress and continuing to restore power to more members each day, most of the remaining outages are isolated to circuits that serve streets and individual homes.
Crews are focused on rebuilding and repairing the distribution lines that bring power to these members, and the hours we spend clearing one road and restoring one line ultimately benefits fewer people. That’s a big reason restoration numbers aren’t climbing as quickly as they did in the beginning of the restoration process.
After assessing progress made up to this point, by our best estimate, members in these areas may remain without power through October 11. This timeframe doesn’t apply to everyone – this is an outside estimate.
We’re providing this outside estimate so all members still without power are able to plan for themselves and their families.
The co-op cannot provide a more specific estimated time of restoration yet but will share that information as soon as it is available.
Our crews are working hard to repair the damage, but are still facing significant challenges, especially in the hardest hit areas. By our most recent assessment, we have 600 broken poles and counting. We’ve repaired approximately 300 so far. To add context, prior to this event, we experienced only 50 broken poles during the entirety of 2023 (corrected from 700 in earlier updates).
Replacing broken poles typically takes 2-4 hours as crews must remove the old one, set the new one, and restring lines. However, crews in the field have reported it is taking hours to cut through trees and debris to reach equipment, making the process even longer.
The co-op has 265 crews representing more than 640 line technicians and right-of-way workers operating now, including mutual aid workers from 17 states, and more are on the way.
21 right-of-way crews, 11 skid steer crews, and 2 track hoe crews are working to remove downed trees from our infrastructure.
They’re all working in rotating 16-hour shifts in all parts of our service area, cutting away trees, replacing poles, restringing distribution lines, rebuilding circuits, and making repairs in seven Upstate counties. The extensive damage to our system means there is still significant work to do before power is fully restored to every member.
As more of our system becomes energized, it is extremely important to stay away from downed power lines and anything they touch.
For the most up-to-date outage information, look for our updates on social media (Facebook, X, and Instagram).
While driving, please make way for crews working on roadsides, and don’t approach lineworkers while they’re on the job; it presents a safety hazard for them and the public and disrupts restoration work.
Members who are dependent on medical equipment at home and are without power should contact the S.C. Department of Public Health at 1-855-472-3432 to find out if they are eligible for a medical needs shelter.
We remain grateful for our members’ understanding and patience as we respond to this emergency.
Blue Ridge Electric Sunday night update:
Approximately 2,600 Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative members had power restored Saturday, dropping the percentage without service to 2 percent. Thanks to the work of cooperative employees, mutual aid and contractors, Blue Ridge Electric has brought on significantly more members than originally projected by Monday.
Over 62,000 members have had their power restored since Tropical Storm Helene arrived in the Upstate on September 27. At the time of this release, 1,507 members were without power. We have confirmed 911 broken poles in our system. Roughly 670 have been replaced.
Below are the members restored Sunday by county:
- Anderson: 57
- Greenville: 361
- Oconee: 1,009
- Pickens: 1,205
Below are the remaining members without power by county:
- Anderson: 13
- Greenville: 571
- Oconee: 207
- Pickens: 716
We will continue to provide updates on Monday. My email did bounce from some accounts this afternoon due to media file sizes being too large to share. If you didn’t receive one, my apologies. See below for that information.
***HIGHWAY 178/ROCKY BOTTOM REBUILD ESTIMATED TO TAKE A WEEK***
It will take approximately one week to rebuild a three-phase circuit that serves just under 200 members of the Rocky Bottom community in Pickens County due to severe system damage.
The current line cannot be salvaged. Just this morning, the Army National Guard was removing sagging trees on U.S. Highway 178 so crews could continue to work toward the North Carolina-South Carolina state line. Construction on a new line project will span approximately 2.5 miles.
The public is advised to avoid this portion of Highway 178 so crews can work safely.
Sunday evening update from FindEnergy.com
Current outages:
Counties:
Abbeville County, South Carolina – 2,240 out of 11,163tracked meters (20.07%) are without power in Abbeville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Greenville County, South Carolina – 18,144 out of 327,008tracked meters (5.55%) are without power in Greenville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Laurens County, South Carolina – 6,225 out of 35,858tracked meters (17.36%) are without power in Laurens County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Pickens County, South Carolina – 3,930 out of 58,666tracked meters (6.70%) are without power in Pickens County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Spartanburg County, South Carolina – 17,214 out of 174,736tracked meters (9.85%) are without power in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – https://findenergy.com/sc/spartanburg-county-electricity/power-outage/
11:30 a.m. Sunday update from FindEnergy.com
Buncombe County, North Carolina – 56,893 out of 158,444 tracked meters (35.91%) are without power in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
More information on Buncombe County and city of Asheville Helene recovery on this web page.
Blue Ridge Electric Coop – 4,106 out of 73,098 tracked meters (5.62%) in South Carolina are without power – https://findenergy.com/providers/blue-ridge-electric-coop/power-outage/
10 a.m. Sunday update from FindEnergy.com
Abbeville County, South Carolina – 2,570 out of 11,163 tracked meters (23.02%) are without power in Abbeville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Anderson County, South Carolina – 5,519 out of 115,571 tracked meters (4.78%) are without power in Anderson County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Greenville County, South Carolina – 29,868 out of 327,013 tracked meters (9.13%) are without power in Greenville County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Laurens Commission of Public Works – 719 out of 5,469 tracked meters (13.15%) in South Carolina are without power – https://findenergy.com/providers/laurens-commission-of-public-works/power-outage/
Oconee County, South Carolina – 1,404 out of 21,553 tracked meters (6.51%) are without power in Oconee County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Pickens County, South Carolina – 5,176 out of 58,666 tracked meters (8.82%) are without power in Pickens County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility –
Spartanburg County, South Carolina – 26,369 out of 174,737 tracked meters (15.09%) are without power in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Visit link for breakdown by utility – https://findenergy.com/sc/spartanburg-county-electricity/power-outage/
9 a.m. Laurens Electric Sunday morning update:
As of Sunday at 9:00 a.m., 9,090 members (or 14%) remain without power.
We are in the most difficult phase of the rebuilding and restoration process.
Although crews are making steady progress and continuing to restore power to more members each day, most of the remaining outages are isolated to circuits that serve streets, and individual homes, which is the last step in restoring power.
After assessing progress made up to this point, by our best estimate, members in these areas may remain without power through October 11. This timeframe doesn’t apply to everyone – this is an outside estimate.
We’re providing this outside estimate so all members still without power are able to plan for themselves and their families.
Our crews are working hard to repair the damage, but are still facing significant challenges, especially in the hardest hit areas. By our most recent assessment, we have 600 broken poles and counting. We’ve repaired approximately 300 so far. To add context, prior to this event, we experienced 700 broken poles during the entirety of 2023.
Replacing broken poles typically takes 2-4 hours as crews must remove the old one, set the new one, and restring lines. However, crews in the field have reported it is taking hours to cut through trees and debris to reach equipment, making the process even longer.
The co-op has 265 crews representing more than 640 line technicians and right-of-way workers operating now, including mutual aid workers from 17 states, and more are on the way.
21 right-of-way crews, 11 skid steer crews, and 2 track hoe crews are working to remove downed trees from our infrastructure.
They’re all working in rotating 16-hour shifts in all parts of our service area, cutting away trees, replacing poles, restringing distribution lines, rebuilding circuits, and making repairs in seven Upstate counties. The extensive damage to our system means there is still significant work to do before power is fully restored to every member.
As more of our system becomes energized, it is extremely important to stay away from downed power lines and anything they touch.
The co-op cannot provide more specific estimated time of restoration yet but will share that information as soon as it is available. For the most up-to-date outage information, look for our updates on social media (Facebook, X, and Instagram).
While driving, please make way for crews working on roadsides, and don’t approach line workers while they’re on the job; it presents a safety hazard for them and the public and disrupts restoration work.
Members who are dependent on medical equipment at home and are without power should contact the S.C. Department of Public Health at 1-855-472-3432 to find out if they are eligible for a medical needs shelter.
