SCE&G restores power to more than 90 percent of customers following Hurricane Matthew
October 12, 2016
SCE&G has restored power to more than 90 percent of its customers following Hurricane Matthew, down from a peak of 290,000 outages at the height of the storm last weekend. Restoration efforts will continue in the coming days, and SCE&G will move even more resources and personnel into the hardest hit areas, such as Beaufort County and nearby barrier islands.
“On a typical day in Beaufort, we have about 90 linemen available to serve customers,” said Keller Kissam, president of SCE&G’s retail operations. “Today we have 742 electric line workers in the Beaufort area. That’s one linemen for every 25 people without power, and there will be even more tomorrow. We want to get this wrapped up over the weekend.”
Estimated times of restoration range from Thursday to Sunday, with the exception of Daufuskie Island, Fripp Island and Hunting Island, which could potentially exceed estimates due to accessibility challenges and the extent of damage in those areas. Estimated times of restoration for each county can be found online by clicking the county name on SCE&G’s outage map: www.sceg.com/outages.
Kissam asked that as residents return to Beaufort and other hard hit areas that they use caution when approaching electric crews.
“Our biggest obstacle is traffic concerns and people who want to engage with linemen,” Kissam said “We understand that you want to thank them, or you may be concerned or have questions, but please allow them to do the work they need to do. Every customer is important to us. If your lights are off, we’re not stopping until we get them back on.”
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.
.
