EMCs See Significant Increase in Power Outages Overnight
Friday, September 27, 2024
Posted by: Kim Broun
Tucker, GA, 9/28/24 at 5AM – This morning, Georgia’s Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs) report approximately 330,000 customers without power. Making landfall as a Category 4 Hurricane nearly 500 miles wide, Helene is one of the largest hurricanes to ever hit the state, and impacts are being seen across Georgia. The majority of the outages are currently in south, southeast, east and central Georgia. Outages in the northern half of the state are increasing as the storm continues to barrel through.
In addition to damage to EMC power distributions lines, Georgia Transmission Corp. reports that high-voltage transmission lines and substations have been affected. As soon as it is safe to do so, efforts will be underway to safely access downed electric transmission lines and properly assess the damage.
When it is safe for workers, EMC crews will descend upon hardest hit areas to begin damage assessments and initial restoration work, and outage numbers could increase as damage assessment is completed. Due to high winds and heavy rains, this storm caused widespread damage to trees, power lines and power poles. In many cases, trees will need to be cleared from roadways before line workers can access outages.
EMCs began hurricane season preparation in June, with preparations for Hurricane Helene beginning nearly a week ago. EMCs have participated in daily discussions with co-ops from across the country to arrange for extra crews, trucks and equipment. Thanks to mutual aid agreements, crews have arrived and will continue arriving today from Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa and Ohio. Extra help will arrive from the neighboring Carolinas and Alabama as soon as they are released from their restoration efforts.
Outage Information:
A map showing current outages by region, updated every 15 minutes, can be found at http://www.georgiaemc.com/outages. To report power outages and gain more detailed outage and restoration updates, customers should contact their local EMC provider.
About Georgia EMC:
Georgia EMC is the statewide trade association representing the state’s 41 electric cooperatives, Oglethorpe Power Corp., Georgia Transmission Corp. and Georgia System Operations Corp. Collectively, Georgia’s customer-owned co-ops provide electricity and related services to 4.4 million people, nearly half of Georgia’s population, across 73 percent of the state’s land area. To learn more, visit www.georgiaemc.com and follow us on Facebook and X.
About Georgia Transmission:
Georgia Transmission Corp., a not-for-profit cooperative owned by 38 Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs), owns more than 5,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines and more than 780 substations. These facilities deliver power to Georgia’s EMCs providing electricity to more than 4.5 million Georgians. For more information, visit gatransmission.com.
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