Greenwood County Rallies to Restore Power Amidst Widespread Outages
GREENWOOD COUNTY – After a powerful storm left thousands in the dark, efforts to restore electricity in Greenwood County are well underway. As of Friday, 550 workers are on the ground tirelessly repairing power lines and clearing debris to bring back electricity to the community.
The situation is being managed meticulously, with line workers, tree cutters, and a dedicated crew from Duke Energy all coordinating to clear roads and repair damaged transmission lines. Transmission lines are significantly damaged and require extensive repairs, as they are critical for powering substations that, in turn, distribute electricity to homes and businesses.
Theo Lane, a key organizer of the effort, is confident that power will be restored by the end of the week. “Right now there are 550 line service workers in Greenwood County. Only 50 of those are our regular routine Duke people,” Lane explained. This massive effort includes over 1,000 additional workers from surrounding states and Canada coming in to provide much-needed assistance.
This is no small feat. Given the intricate nature of the damage, Lane elucidated, “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.”
With the meticulous nature of the work, the moving parts of the process must be synchronized. Cutting crews are actively trimming trees and securing power lines to ensure safety before any repairs can begin. It’s a slow, albeit necessary, process to ensure that all elements are addressed safely and efficiently.
Collaborative Efforts to Expedite Power Restoration
To speed up the recovery process, Duke Energy’s efforts are augmented by the coordinated work of the S.C. National Guard and police. Everyone plays an integral role in welcoming and supporting the influx of service line workers arriving in Greenwood County.
“Our transmission lines are significantly damaged. They feed the substations. Your substations feed these houses 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 detailed. This explains why it has taken a few days to start seeing progress in residential areas.
Despite the challenges, Ryan Mosier, Duke Energy’s principal communications manager, expressed optimism, saying, “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.”
This ambitious timeline aligns with the collaborative effort seen over the past few days and the remarkable workforce pooling in from across state lines and international borders.
Residents Awaiting Power Restoration
By now, the community is well-aware of the Herculean effort underway to return to normalcy. The sight of crews working around the clock has sparked hope, even among the 40,000 residents still waiting for power.
For those who wish to stay updated on the status of the restoration efforts, stay tuned to reliable updates from local authorities and Duke Energy representatives. Despite the frustrations stemming from the outages, it is clear that relentless and coordinated efforts are being made to ensure everyone will have their power back by the promised timeline.
For further inquiries or updates, residents can reach out directly via the provided local contact numbers.
