Central responds to damage from Hurricane Florence

A four-day push to restore outages caused by Hurricane Florence concluded on Monday as the cooperative restored all outages that were able to be cleared up. As of Tuesday morning, 48 members were still remaining without power due to inaccessible areas caused by flooding. These remaining members will be restored as soon as the areas become accessible.

Central Electric crews, along with crews from co-ops across the country, Albemarle EMC from Herford, N.C., Central Georgia EMC from Jackson, GA, Dixie Electric Cooperative from Montgomery, AL, Southside Electric Cooperative from Crewe, VA, Tallapoosa River Electric Cooperative from LaFayette, AL, Tennessee Valley Electric Cooperative from Savannah, TN, local contract crews, Lee Electrical Construction, Lewis Tree Service and Xylem Tree Experts, as well as a Lewis Tree Service crew from Bridgeport, CT, restored power to over 12,000 members.

Crews faced slow working conditions due to the unrelenting conditions from the storm. A steady wall of heavy rain brought with it flooding as well as extremely wet ground conditions, creating several days of difficult restoration conditions. The cooperative appreciates the patience of its members during the aftermath of the storm, as crews worked tirelessly and diligently to restore service as quickly and safely as possible. The resiliency of the cooperative network was displayed this week, evident by the quick response from cooperatives and contractors across the state and country to respond to the storm. Even though the storm response is coming to a close for Central Electric, our thoughts remain with areas across the state that were hit much harder and are still rebuilding from the storm.