SCE&G provides update on Hurricane Matthew restoration progress
October 11, 2016
Keller Kissam, SCE&G president of retail operations, met with reporters Oct. 10 to discuss restoration efforts in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.
More than 290,000 outages were reported at the peak of the storm, which occurred at 2 p.m. Saturday. Hardest hit by the high winds were customers in the coastal counties of Charleston, Beaufort, Dorchester and Colleton as well as Richland County in the Midlands. By 3 p.m. today, crews had restored power to more than 180,000 customers throughout SCE&G’s service territory.
“We’re making progress, but there is a lot of work to do, particularly in the hard-hit areas of the Lowcountry,” Kissam said. “Hurricane Matthew was the most significant weather event impacting our system since Hurricane Hugo. It will take time, but our crews are working around the clock to restore power as quickly as they can and as safely as they can for our customers.”
SCE&G secured more than 1,000 off-system crew members to supplement the more than 2,000 SCE&G employees assisting with storm restoration efforts. Damage assessment and restoration efforts will continue throughout the week, as crews completing work inland join others working in hard-hit areas along the coast.
In the wake of a major storm or hurricane, steps in SCE&G’s restoration process include:
– Assessing and repairing damage to large towers, power lines and substations.
– Clearing obstructions and repairing primary distribution poles and power lines.
– Inspecting and repairing secondary service drops in residential neighborhoods.
If your weatherhead or meter base is damaged, please have a certified electrician make the needed repairs before your power can be restored. More information on SCEG’s restoration process can be found online at www.sceg.com/restore. For up-to- date storm information and to report an outage visit www.sceg.com/storm.
Safety is still a priority, and SCE&G urges customers to stay away from downed power lines. Storms can cause tree limbs and entire trees to break and fall, sometimes taking power lines and even meter boxes down with them. Always assume any downed power line you see is live and stay away. To report a downed line, call 1-888- 333-4465.
View restoration effort photos of our lineman: https://www.flickr.com/photos/scegnews/albums/72157674930546356
About SCE&G:
South Carolina Electric & Gas Company is a regulated public utility engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity to approximately 706,000 customers in 24 counties in the central, southern and southwestern portions of South Carolina. The company also provides natural gas service to approximately 352,000 customers in 38 counties in the state.
