Electric Co-ops Faced With 1.25 Million Outages in the Wake of Hurricane Helene

Last Updated: Sept. 27, 3 p.m. ET

Lineworkers from across the country encountered catastrophic damage from Hurricane Helene as they laboriously started restoring power in the wake of one of the most consequential storms in the 87-year history of electric cooperatives.

Helene knocked out electric service to an estimated 1.25 million co-op members as it passed from the Florida coast to southwest Virginia late Thursday into daylight on Friday.

The Category 4 hurricane, weakened but packing a wallop as a tropical storm, was responsible for at least 25 deaths, the Associated Press reported. It destroyed high-voltage transmission structures, turned highways into impassable mounds of uprooted trees and tangled messes of downed wires and power poles.

As of 2 p.m. Friday, co-ops in Florida were dealing with more than 200,000 outages. Georgia co-ops totaled over 404,000 outages, with more than 316,000 in South Carolina and 230,000 in North Carolina. As the storm passed northwest, more than 100,000 co-op members in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia also were without power.

More than a dozen states—including Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Ohio, Alabama and Maryland—were deploying mutual aid crews to help with power restoration, which could take weeks in some cases. Some neighboring states dispatched crews as soon they completed their local work. Missouri was sending nearly 200 lineworkers to affected areas, where they would likely remain for days. Mississippi co-ops accounted for more than 250 lineworkers.

Overall, more than 6,400 personnel—including lineworkers, support staff, right-of-way contractors, warehouse staff, safety employees and command center staff—are part of the mutual aid effort.

Blocked roads and waterways

In Florida, Helene ripped through the territories of Madison-based Tri-County Electric Cooperative and Live Oak-based Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative, knocking out essentially the entire system at both co-ops—affecting a combined 50,000 members. Jon Little, SVEC’s director of communications, said nine of the co-op’s 13 substations lacked power due to a loss of transmission services provided by investor-owned utilities.

Some 325 lineworkers and tree-clearing specialists from SVEC and its contractors were in the field early on Thursday with an additional 350 workers arriving on Friday and Saturday, he said. Some 500 boots were on the ground at hard-hit Central Florida Electric Cooperative as well.

At Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, David Lambert, executive vice president and general manager, said he has never seen so much water. High-water vehicles were being dispatched to help with rescues along the coast. Dade City, Florida-based WREC had as many as 40,000 outages, though that number had been reduced to about 16,000 as of 2 p.m. Friday.

In Georgia, Reidsville-based Canoochee EMC described “unprecedented destruction in all parts of our service territory. Many roadways are currently impassable, delaying total assessment of the situation. We have also enlisted the aid of 91 additional linemen.” More than 90% of members were without electricity as of midafternoon Friday.

In a message to members, Wayne Gossage Jr., president and CEO of Wrens-based Jefferson Energy Cooperative, said “Currently, our system is 100% without power. Our crews are currently focused on major roadways so that the other crews can make it in to their equipment and begin outage restoration.”

Extensive damage in the Carolinas

South Carolina co-ops registered 425,000 outages at peak as the storm crawled along the South Carolina-Georgia border, taking down almost 50 transmission lines, officials reported.

Pickens-based Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative had about 64,000 outages, about 85% of the system, and Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative in Lexington about 60,000.

“Until the wind and rain subsides, it is too dangerous for restoration to begin,” Blue Ridge told its members. The co-op also warned members on Facebook of an apparent scam in which a member reported receiving a phone call from an unauthorized party demanding partial payment to avoid service disconnection at a critical time.

Aiken Electric Cooperative reported more than 90% of its system was down. “Contracting teams have been dispatched to assess damage and begin making repairs. Reports have indicated major damage including many downed lines, fallen trees and broken poles, which can take time to repair, especially in adverse weather conditions,” the Aiken-based co-op told its members.

Laurens Electric Cooperative, with 98% of its 63,000 members out at peak, said Helene may be the worst storm in the history of the Laurens-based co-op. IOU transmission lines needed repair work first, the co-op noted. “Our linemen must also navigate roadways blocked by fallen trees.”

North Carolina cooperatives reported 230,000 outages as of 3 p.m. Friday. Crews from the eastern part of the state, which incurred limited damage, headed west to co-ops including Rutherford EMC, based in Forest City, and Haywood EMC, based in Waynesville, both of which had more than 80% of their members lacking electricity. Haywood EMC said extreme flooding, landslides and road closures were hampering its ability to conduct damage assessments.

“This will be a collaborative effort from the entire network of North Carolina’s electric cooperatives and beyond,” said Jason Caudle, chief operating officer for Tarheel Electric Membership Association, an organization that supplies materials and manages crew movement for North Carolina’s electric cooperatives. “In conditions like these, it’s all-hands-on deck.”

Continuous restoration

In many places, crews worked through the night to bring back power to members. Sumterville, Florida-based SECO Energy had 22,000 accounts in the dark at peak, but that number was reduced to less than 2,000 by 2 p.m. Friday.

“Crews never stopped working overnight. They worked through rain and wind gusts … making significant progress in the restoration effort that continues this morning,” said CEO Curtis Wynn. “We are thankful for their assistance and are thinking of our neighbors in north Florida whose homes and properties are severely damaged.”

The Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF) has set up a dedicated page for donations to raise funds for disaster relief to electric cooperatives and co-op employees directly affected by Hurricane Helene. 

Steven Johnson is a contributing writer for NRECA.