Greenwood Faces Recovery After Hurricane Helene
Community Steps Up in Face of Power Outages
Greenwood, South Carolina, has been pulling together in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which left an unprecedented number of power outages throughout the county. As of Friday morning, there were over 16,000 outages reported, with Duke Energy indicating that around 13,663 outages occurred in the county, while Greenwood CPW noted an additional 3,000 outages within the city. The storm’s impact was severe, affecting nearly every home and business.
Jeff Meredith, the General Manager of Greenwood CPW, described the situation as one of the worst natural disasters many have experienced. He shared that the city faced a complete shutdown of its electrical system along with disruptions in gas and water services—a first in the utility’s history. “We knew from the start that we were in for a tough road ahead,” Meredith said, recounting how crews began preparing for restoration efforts even before they fully understood the storm’s impact.
Working Around the Clock to Restore Power
Since the storm, the hardworking crews at CPW have put in endless hours to restore power to their community. “We’ve managed to get over 75% of our electric system back online already,” Meredith reported. This restoration is a result of a team effort from linemen, water and gas department members, customer service, and many others who have been putting in long hours to help their neighbors.
To assist with the overwhelming situation, CPW has brought in backup teams of linemen from six different states under mutual-aid agreements. These teams have been housed at the CPW Operations Center, with the Greenwood School District 50 generously allowing them to utilize a nearby school for meals and accommodations until local hotels become available again.
Focus on Critical Facilities
In the wake of the hurricane, the priority for CPW was getting power back to critical facilities, such as the main hospital and essential commercial areas like groceries and gas stations. Meredith emphasized, “These efforts were key in supporting both our community and the linemen working tirelessly to restore services.” As work progresses, teams are now entering more populated neighborhoods, where restoring power is taking additional time due to the tangled mass of downed trees and electric lines.
Challenges Extend Beyond Greenwood
The impact of Hurricane Helene hasn’t just been felt in Greenwood. In neighboring Abbeville County, more than 1,000 outages are reported, with 195 outages registered by Duke Energy and 945 by Little River Electric. Chad Stone, the interim CEO at Little River, shared a video message addressing residents. “This won’t happen overnight,” he said, promising that restoration efforts will continue as swiftly as possible, although it may take over a week—or even three weeks—to fully restore power.
Resources Available for Residents
As the community rallies together, essential resources are made available to help those in need. Here are some important contacts for residents:
- Emergency 911
- Non-emergency: 864-942-8632
- CPW outage reporting: 864-942-8100
- Duke outage reporting: 800-769-3766
- Crisis cleanup hotline: 864-965-1386
- Storm debris hotline: 864-321-1097
- Emergency Operations Center: 864-942-8553
- Food and water resources available at the Boys/Girls Club, 125 N. University St.
- Food Bank Pantry opens at 10 a.m. and soup kitchen at 11 a.m.
Local state legislators are also on standby to assist, with contact numbers provided for those needing guidance.
As recovery continues, Greenwood County shows a remarkable spirit of resilience. The combined efforts of countless individuals, organizations, and agencies are testament to the unity of this community in overcoming the challenges posed by Hurricane Helene.
Mays Contracting
