Greenwood County Mobilizes Hundreds to Restore Power After Widespread Outage

Greenwood County Shines Through Power Outage with Week of Restoration Efforts

If you’ve been in Greenwood County lately, you might have seen an unusually high number of utility workers and tree crews buzzing about. Yes, it’s a significant operation, and it has everything to do with a massive effort to bring back power to about 40,000 residents who have been without electricity since last Friday.

Duke Energy has deployed 550 workers on the ground since this past weekend, tackling everything from repairing transmission lines to clearing fallen trees. “It’s a painstaking process,” says Theo Lane from Duke Energy. “You see, if you go down a road and there’s an electric line under or in that tree, you can’t touch it until the power company says that’s a dead line. Well, that’s every tree.”

These workers aren’t just from around here; over 1,000 workers from surrounding states and Canada are making their way to Greenwood County to lend a hand. “We’ve got all hands on deck,” Lane said, noting the collaboration with police and the S.C. National Guard to manage and welcome the influx of service line workers.

Ryan Mosier, Duke Energy’s principal communications manager, shared more good news. “We established what we call an estimated time of restoration for the region yesterday, letting folks know that we fully expect to have the last person that can receive power up by Friday night,” he said. So while it’s a tough time right now, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel—quite literally!

Why Is It Taking So Long?

You might be wondering why it’s taking so much elbow grease and time to get things back to normal. The main culprit here is the significantly damaged transmission lines. These are the big guys that feed the substations, which then distribute power to homes and businesses. “When those transmission services are down, you can’t energize the substations until that’s fixed. Then, and only then, can you start working in neighborhoods,” Lane explained.

Meanwhile, cutting crews are out in full force, trimming trees and ensuring that no dangers lurk around the power lines. “It’s a slow process,” Lane admitted, but every snip and cut is bringing the community one step closer to restored power.

A Big Team Effort

On any given day since Friday, the sight of workers from different parts of the country – and even Canada – has become the norm. Theo Lane emphasized this collaborative spirit, “Only 50 of those [workers] are our regular routine Duke people,” he said, underlining the sheer scale of the assistance they’ve received. It’s heartening to see such unity and teamwork in these challenging times.

With the combined efforts of line workers, tree cutters, and transmission repair teams, Duke Energy remains optimistic about meeting their Friday night deadline to restore power. “Right now there are 550 line service workers here, and we’re coordinating efforts to return power to close to 40,000 residents by the end of this week,” Lane said.

Weathering It Together

This week hasn’t been easy for Greenwood County residents. With a mix of sunny spells and a fair share of clouds, the weather has been quite typical, but not having power adds a layer of difficulty. However, there’s a sense of community resilience—neighbors helping neighbors, and everyone looking out for one another.

The news of a shared goal—having power restored by Friday night—is a collective glimmer of hope. It’s a reminder that even in the dark, we can see a pathway illuminated by shared determination and effort.

For updates and more information, residents are encouraged to stay tuned and keep in close contact with local authorities for the latest on the restoration efforts.

Stay strong, Greenwood County. The lights will be back on soon.