Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction in Central Florida Electric Cooperative territory. Despite the challenging conditions, the co-op had managed to restore power to more than 12,000 consumer-members as of midday Saturday. (Photo Courtesy: Central Florida Electric Cooperative)
Updated: Sept. 28, 4 p.m. ET
At a South Carolina electric cooperative, lineworkers compared damage from Hurricane Helene to a war zone.
At another, a co-op employee found a trampoline in her family’s backyard, though no one in the area owned one.
And just about everywhere, lineworkers are sleeping in camps, hotels, cabins and offices as they rest up for the gut-wrenching work needed to restore power to an estimated 1 million co-op members.
In North Carolina, Blue Ridge Energy crews resorted to forging their own roads after the remnants of Hurricane Helene washed many transportation routes off the map when passing through on Friday. (Photo Courtesy: Blue Ridge Energy)
“We have 40-year co-op veterans who say this is the worst and most widespread destruction they’ve seen in their careers. The damage is catastrophic,” said Jim Donahoo, spokesperson for Laurens Electric Cooperative in Laurens, S.C.
“We hate to keep using the word ‘unprecedented,’ but it is. We have never experienced this combination of tropical storm-force winds, rainfall and flooding in the Upstate of South Carolina,” Donahoo said.
Laurens Electric had nearly 47,000 meters without power as of mid-afternoon Saturday, less than two days after Hurricane Helene delivered a heavy blow to a seven-state region from the Florida Big Bend to the Blue Ridge with torrential downpours and winds that hit 140 mph at peak.
“The damage is so severe and we serve such remote, mountainous communities [with 8,000 miles of power line] that it’s taking a while to fully assess the damage,” said Renee Walker, director of public relations at Blue Ridge Energy in Lenoir, N.C.
Many locations remain inaccessible after Helene washed away chunks of roads.
“There are hundreds if not thousands of downed trees that have mangled power lines, broken hundreds of power poles and are covering roadways and access points that we are cutting our way through,” Walker said.
As of Saturday, the most-affected states remained Florida with about 125,000 co-op members in the dark, Georgia with 305,000, South Carolina with 275,000 and North Carolina with 189,000. Thousands remained without power in Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee as Helene swirled from the Gulf Coast to the Cumberland Gap.
More than a dozen states—including Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Ohio, Alabama, Maryland and New Jersey—were deploying mutual aid crews to help with power restoration, which could take weeks in some cases.
Tri-County was almost 100% dark Saturday, with more than 1,100 mutual aid workers committed to repairs at the Madison-based co-op.
“This is an extremely difficult time for our communities. The devastation we are seeing is unlike past storms in many areas,” said Kaitlynn Culpepper, Tri-County community relations director.
Crews in Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative territory in Georgia worked into the night on Sept. 28. The co-op posted on its Facebook page that 1,100 workers—from SVEC, contractors and mutual aid crews—were simultaneously performing damage assessments and power restoration. (Photo Courtesy: Suwannee Valley EC)
Restoration work in high water continued in Cairo, Georgia-based Grady EMC territory on Sept. 29. (Photo Courtesy: Grady EMC)
The remnants of Helene caused damage even in Ohio. Lancaster-based South Central Power Co. saw nearly 30 broken poles as restoration work stretched over the weekend. (Photo Courtesy: South Central Power Co.)
In North Carolina, the rebuilding efforts from Hurricane Helene are often are from the ground up as crews replace broken poles and spans of line. (Photo Courtesy: North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives)
On Saturday, Sept. 28, pole replacement was the name of the day for hard-hit Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative in Florida. (Photo Courtesy: Suwannee Valley Electric)
Debris and downed structures litter roadways in the territory of Central Florida Electric Cooperative on Sept. 28. (Photo By: CFEC)
As of noon on Sept. 28, Jackson EMC had restored power to nearly all of its members. The Georgia co-op had more than 20,000 consumer-members without power after Hurricane Helene swept through its territory in the early morning hours of Sept. 27. The co-op’s lineworkers, along with mutual aid crews, replaced more than...
On Friday morning, Live Oak, Florida-based Suwannee Valley EC crews began working on restoration efforts. The co-op posted on its Facebook page that 99.9% of its service territory lost power and that nine of its 13 substations lost power. (Photo Courtesy: Suwannee Valley EC)
As of midday on Sept. 27, Jackson EMC crews were working to restore power to just more than 10,000 consumer-members across the co-op's service area, down from nearly 20,000 earlier in the day, according to a post on its Facebook page. (Photo Courtesy: Jackson EMC)
Snapping Shoals EMC faced some 20 broken poles after the remnants of Hurricane Helene slammed its service territory overnight on Sept. 27. (Photo Courtesy: Snapping Shoals EMC)
As of midday on Sept. 27, Jackson EMC crews were working to restore power to just more than 10,000 consumer-members across the co-op's service area, down from nearly 20,000 earlier in the day, according to a post on its Facebook page. (Photo Courtesy: Jackson EMC)
As of midday on Sept. 27, Jackson EMC crews were working to restore power to just more than 10,000 consumer-members across the co-op's service area, down from nearly 20,000 earlier in the day, according to a post on its Facebook page. (Photo Courtesy: Jackson EMC)
A co-op crew from Indiana cuts through downed trees and debris to set a pole in an affected Georgia electric cooperative. (Photo By: Indiana Electric Cooperatives.)
Restoration efforts were underway on Sept. 27 in Palmetto, Georgia-based Coweta-Fayette EMC’s territory following damage from Hurricane Helene. (Photo Courtesy: Coweta-Fayette EMC)
A fallen tree knocked out a substation in Dobson, North Carolina-based Surry-Yadkin EMC’s territory on Sept. 27 as the remnants of Hurricane Helene moved through the Carolinas. (Photo Courtesy: Surry-Yadkin EMC)
Tri-County EMC crews in Madison, Florida-based Tri-County Electric Cooperative continued restoration efforts on Sept. 27. Hurricane Helene made landfall in the co-op’s service territory in the evening hours of Sept. 26. (Photo Courtesy: Tri-County EMC)
Also in Georgia, Covington-based Snapping Shoals EMC continued restoration efforts. As of midday Friday, Sept. 27, the co-op had approximately 2,000 consumer-members without power. (Photo Courtesy: Snapping Shoals EMC)
Dade City, Florida-based Withlacoochee River EC saw what the co-op described as “historic water and extremely high wind gusts” through its service territory when Hurricane Helene came ashore on Sept. 26. (Photo Courtesy: Withlacoochee River EC)
A view of the widespread flooding in Withlacoochee River EC’s territory late in the evening in Florida on Sept. 26 after Hurricane Helene passed through. (Photo Courtesy: Withlacoochee River EC)
On Friday morning, Live Oak, Florida-based Suwannee Valley EC crews began working on restoration efforts. The co-op posted on its Facebook page that 99.9% of its service territory lost power and that nine of its 13 substations lost power. (Photo Courtesy: Suwannee Valley EC)
On Friday morning, Live Oak, Florida-based Suwannee Valley EC crews began working on restoration efforts. The co-op posted on its Facebook page that 99.9% of its service territory lost power and that nine of its 13 substations lost power. (Photo Courtesy: Suwannee Valley EC)
A basecamp at Suwannee Valley EC in Live Oak, Florida, had approximately 1,500 beds ready for crews ready to assist with restoration efforts ahead of Hurricane Helene’s landfall on Sept. 26. (Photo Courtesy: Florida Electric Cooperatives Association)
Mutual aid crews—and their families, including the little ones—from CoServ in Corinth, Texas, meet on Sept. 25 before heading to assist co-ops in Georgia with restoration efforts from Hurricane Helene. (Photo Courtesy: Sawnee EMC)
Linemen from Coles-Moultrie EC in Mattoon, Illinois, before heading to Georgia on Sept. 25 ahead of Hurricane Helene’s landfall along the Gulf Coast. (Photo Courtesy: Coles-Moultrie EC)
Linemen from Northwestern REC in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, hit the road to Coweta-Fayette EMC in Palmetto, Georgia, on Sept. 25 in advance of Hurricane Helene’s arrival. (Photo Courtesy: Northwestern REC)
At Jackson EMC in Jefferson, Georgia, crews gathered supplies from warehouses to stock and prepare trucks for the storm response, while welcoming crews from other co-ops and contractors starting to arrive for support in advance of Hurricane Helene’s landfall on Sept. 26. (Photo Courtesy: Jackson EMC)
A mutual aid crew from CoServ in Corinth, Texas, meet on Sept. 25 to head to assist co-ops in Georgia with restoration efforts from Hurricane Helene. (Photo Courtesy: Sawnee EMC)
A mutual aid crew from Creedmoor, Texas-based Pike Electric arrived in Jackson EMC territory in Georgia on Sept. 26 in advance of Hurricane Helene’s landfall. (Photo Courtesy: Jackson EMC)
A crew from Sam Houston EC in Texas prepares to head to Central Georgia Electric Cooperative on Sept. 26 to assist with restoration efforts from Hurricane Helene. (Photo Courtesy: Sam Houston EC)
At Laurens EC in South Carolina, employees inspected equipment on Sept. 26 while prepping for Hurricane Helene to impact their service territory. (Photo Courtesy: Laurens EC)
Crews at Withlacoochee River EC in Dade City, Florida, finished advance prep ahead of Hurricane Helene’s landfall on Sept. 26 and were on standby to begin restoration efforts. (Photo Courtesy: Withlacoochee River EC)
Jackson EMC system control operators in Georgia continue to monitor Hurricane Helene and dispatch crews for restoration efforts in the early morning hours of Sept. 27. (Photo Courtesy: Jackson EMC)
Crews at Grady EMC in Cairo, Georgia, grab a quick meal before returning to work after Hurricane Helene passed through the co-op’s service territory. (Photo Courtesy: Grady EMC)
Sack lunches provided by a local business await crews working on restoration efforts at Clarkesville, Georgia-based Habersham EMC on Sept. 27. (Photo Courtesy: Habersham EMC)
Jon Little, director of communications at Suwannee Valley EC, said 850 workers were in the field at the Live Oak-based co-op. They had restored power to about 4,000 of the co-op’s nearly 29,000 members.
“As of now, there have been 900 documented reports of damage to SVEC’s distribution system, including 234 broken poles. These numbers are anticipated to increase significantly in the coming days,” Little said.
Chiefland-based Central Florida Electric Cooperative said 600 “boots on the ground” had helped bring back electricity to nearly 12,000 members.
“Crews have also been able to restore much of our most important infrastructure, including initial repairs to substations and transmission facilities. In addition, more than 50 additional crews will arrive this weekend to assist in the restoration efforts,” a co-op statement said.
Georgia restoration
At Canoochee EMC in Reidsville, which still had about 80% of its system down on Sept. 28, The co-op has turned the old Tattnall Campground with cabins into a basecamp.
“The damage down here is unprecedented, and I really thought that Hurricane Matthew was bad,” said Joseph Sikes, communications specialist. “There are trees down everywhere, and we had a massive issue getting our workforce both to work as well as to work sites.”
A local restaurant, GiGi’s, helped out even though its facility was closed because of the hurricane. The restaurant located a generator to cook and feed line crews.
“A coworker had playground equipment in his fenced backyard that he found in his front yard yesterday,” Sikes added. “The only way that happened was over the house. Another coworker had a trampoline in hers and she says no one near here has one.”
Metter-based Excelsior EMC restored about 3,700 accounts, but more than 20,000 remained out as of Sept. 28.
“We currently have 100 right-of-way and lineworkers on the job, with an additional 200-plus workers on the way from Texas, Missouri, Florida and Arkansas,” the co-op reported. “We want to emphasize that this is one of the worst storms in our service territory’s history.”
The Carolinas
While much of the initial attention on Helene was directed at its impact on Florida, North and South Carolina co-ops suffered massive losses, especially in inland areas. In some cases, loose-rooted trees toppled into lines just as power was restored, wiping out hard-earned gains.
“The damage is worse than what we saw with the 2009 ice storm and comparable to Hurricane Hugo, which previously were the most damaging storms in our cooperative’s history,” said Walker of Blue Ridge Energy.
At Aiken Electric Cooperative, Aiken, South Carolina, workers were laboring to restore nearly 51,000 members to the grid.
Workers mount new structures on behalf of Laurens Electric Cooperative in South Carolina. (Photo Courtesy: Laurens Electric)
Daniele Ligons, Aiken’s marketing manager, said co-op staffers are preparing bag lunches and meals for lineworkers and contractors, who are housed on cots in offices with access to showers; Aiken EC also has partnered with some local hotels to accommodate crews.
“The conditions on the ground are challenging, with broken poles and downed power lines that our linemen have compared to a war zone. Debris and hazardous conditions are complicating restoration efforts and slowing progress, but our teams are working tirelessly around the clock,” Ligons said.
Donahoo of Laurens Electric noted that 40-year co-op veterans are saying Helene caused the most devastation they ever faced. With at least 200 poles down, “crews have had to cut through fallen trees and debris just to get to substations and other infrastructure and are further hampered by fallen trees blocking roadways.”
And logistics during a storm such as Helene are always a work in progress, he added.
“Many restaurants and stores don’t have power or are accepting cash only, and there has been a rush on food, gas, and hotel rooms.”
Steven Johnson is a contributing writer for NRECA.
