Hurricane Helene: Tracking the Co-op Response
PublishedSeptember 27, 2024
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Hurricane Helene: Tracking the Co-op ResponseThousands of lineworkers and personnel from across the cooperative family were hard at work Friday after Hurricane Helene delivered unprecedented damage in the Southeast, leaving more than 1.15 million electric cooperative members in the dark.
Repairs could take weeks in the aftermath the Category 4 hurricane, which made landfall late Thursday in the marshy Big Bend of northwest Florida, in the territory of Madison-based Tri-County Electric Cooperative.
Torrential rains and winds of 140 mph ripped down lines, uprooted trees and flooded coastal areas, just a year after Hurricane Idalia landed as a Category 3 storm near the same point.
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On Friday morning, Live Oak, Florida-based Suwannee Valley EC crews began working on restoration efforts. The co-op posted on its Facebook page that 99.9% of its service territory lost power and that nine of its 13 substations lost power. (Photo Courtesy: Suwannee Valley EC)
Dade City, Florida-based Withlacoochee River EC saw what the co-op described as “historic water and extremely high wind gusts” through its service territory when Hurricane Helene came ashore on Sept. 26. (Photo Courtesy: Withlacoochee River EC)
A view of the widespread flooding in Withlacoochee River EC’s territory late in the evening in Florida on Sept. 26 after Hurricane Helene passed through. (Photo Courtesy: Withlacoochee River EC)
On Friday morning, Live Oak, Florida-based Suwannee Valley EC crews began working on restoration efforts. The co-op posted on its Facebook page that 99.9% of its service territory lost power and that nine of its 13 substations lost power. (Photo Courtesy: Suwannee Valley EC)
On Friday morning, Live Oak, Florida-based Suwannee Valley EC crews began working on restoration efforts. The co-op posted on its Facebook page that 99.9% of its service territory lost power and that nine of its 13 substations lost power. (Photo Courtesy: Suwannee Valley EC)
A basecamp at Suwannee Valley EC in Live Oak, Florida, had approximately 1,500 beds ready for crews ready to assist with restoration efforts ahead of Hurricane Helene’s landfall on Sept. 26. (Photo Courtesy: Florida Electric Cooperatives Association)
Mutual aid crews—and their families, including the little ones—from CoServ in Corinth, Texas, meet on Sept. 25 before heading to assist co-ops in Georgia with restoration efforts from Hurricane Helene. (Photo Courtesy: Sawnee EMC)
Linemen from Coles-Moultrie EC in Mattoon, Illinois, before heading to Georgia on Sept. 25 ahead of Hurricane Helene’s landfall along the Gulf Coast. (Photo Courtesy: Coles-Moultrie EC)
Linemen from Northwestern REC in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, hit the road to Coweta-Fayette EMC in Palmetto, Georgia, on Sept. 25 in advance of Hurricane Helene’s arrival. (Photo Courtesy: Northwestern REC)
At Jackson EMC in Jefferson, Georgia, crews gathered supplies from warehouses to stock and prepare trucks for the storm response, while welcoming crews from other co-ops and contractors starting to arrive for support in advance of Hurricane Helene’s landfall on Sept. 26. (Photo Courtesy: Jackson EMC)
A mutual aid crew from CoServ in Corinth, Texas, meet on Sept. 25 to head to assist co-ops in Georgia with restoration efforts from Hurricane Helene. (Photo Courtesy: Sawnee EMC)
A mutual aid crew from Creedmoor, Texas-based Pike Electric arrived in Jackson EMC territory in Georgia on Sept. 26 in advance of Hurricane Helene’s landfall. (Photo Courtesy: Jackson EMC)
A crew from Sam Houston EC in Texas prepares to head to Central Georgia Electric Cooperative on Sept. 26 to assist with restoration efforts from Hurricane Helene. (Photo Courtesy: Sam Houston EC)
At Laurens EC in South Carolina, employees inspected equipment on Sept. 26 while prepping for Hurricane Helene to impact their service territory. (Photo Courtesy: Laurens EC)
Crews at Withlacoochee River EC in Dade City, Florida, finished advance prep ahead of Hurricane Helene’s landfall on Sept. 26 and were on standby to begin restoration efforts. (Photo Courtesy: Withlacoochee River EC)
Crews at Grady EMC in Cairo, Georgia, grab a quick meal before returning to work after Hurricane Helene passed through the co-op’s service territory. (Photo Courtesy: Grady EMC)
Sack lunches provided by a local business await crews working on restoration efforts at Clarkesville, Georgia-based Habersham EMC on Sept. 27. (Photo Courtesy: Habersham EMC)
Jackson EMC system control operators in Georgia continue to monitor Hurricane Helene and dispatch crews for restoration efforts in the early morning hours of Sept. 27. (Photo Courtesy: Jackson EMC)
A fallen tree knocked out a substation in Dobson, North Carolina-based Surry-Yadkin EMC’s territory on Sept. 27 as the remnants of Hurricane Helene moved through the Carolinas. (Photo Courtesy: Surry-Yadkin EMC)
“As our members continue to assess the damage and restore power it is important to remember that recovery from this catastrophic storm will not happen overnight,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “Electric cooperatives across the country have stepped up and sent mutual aid to the southeast in the wake of Hurricane Helene and many more will join the effort over the coming days. NRECA continues to coordinate closely with impacted co-ops, other utilities, and our federal government partners.”
Within half an hour of Helene’s landfall, more than 220,000 Florida co-op members were in the dark, reaching more than 270,000 by 8 a.m. Friday. Hit hardest were TCEC and Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative, based in Live Oak. Both were totally out, affecting a combined 50,000 members.
Central Florida Electric Cooperative, based in Chiefland, was 90% down, while more than half of Keystone Heights-based Clay Electric Cooperative’s 196,000 accounts also were out.
To the northeast, about 60% of Quincy-based Talquin Electric Cooperative’s accounts were without power, while Dade City-based Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative saw damage to about 40,000 members, mostly due to flooding along the coastal area, said David Lambert, executive vice president and general manager.
Impacts Continue Far InlandThough Helene weakened to tropical storm status as it moved through Georgia, damage in the state was still brutal.
All of Metter-based Excelsior EMC, Wrens-based Jefferson Energy Cooperative and Midway-based Coastal Electric Cooperative were without power. “At first assessment, this appears to be the worst storm in Excelsior EMC’s history. The damage is unprecedented, and conditions remain very dangerous,” according to co-op, which has more than 25,000 accounts.
Almost all of Alma-based Satilla REMC’s more than 59,000 members were out. Reidsville-based Canoochee EMC, with more than 30,000 members, was about 90% down. The statewide cooperative outages topped 430,000 early Friday, according to Tucker-based Georgia Electric Membership Corp.
“EMCs keep extra poles, transformers, wire and other necessary equipment on hand during hurricane season,” said Harry Reeves, vice president of training and safety at the statewide association. “As with each tropical storm, we have been monitoring Helene since it began forming. EMCs around the state have activated their storm plans, and we are working together statewide to respond to the expected power outages caused by the storm.”
Co-op outages were also piling up in the Carolinas on Friday morning. With heavy rainfall and wind throughout the night and continuing into the morning, more than 139,000 members served by electric cooperatives in western North Carolina were without power Friday morning.
Officials caution this number is expected to grow, as the center of Helene enters the western half of the state, bringing higher wind speeds that can topple trees and pull down power lines.
“Cooperative crews are working hard to identify outage areas and restore power, but this will take time and patience,” said Lee Ragsdale, senior vice president of energy delivery at North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives. “Safety is our top priority—for both members and crews—and we are closely monitoring the situation to ensure power is restored as quickly and safely as possible.”
South Carolina co-ops, meanwhile, faced more than 370,000 outages on Friday morning.
Major Mutual Aid EffortMore than 6,400 personnel—including lineworkers, support staff, right-of-way contractors, warehouse staff, safety employees and command center staff—were part of the mutual aid effort.
An estimated 135 lineworkers from 10 Arkansas cooperatives headed to Florida and Georgia, with many of them lined up for Clay Electric. Various Louisiana electric cooperatives sent nearly 100 lineworkers and equipment to aid in restoration efforts. Other states assisting in mutual aid included Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, Illinois, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Iowa, Ohio, Missouri and Pennsylvania.
Indiana sent about 40 lineworkers from 12 cooperatives to help in Georgia, especially in and around the more metropolitan part of the state.
“Every cooperative in the Indiana electric cooperative family is an integral part of a state and national network of hundreds of fellow cooperatives,” said John Cassady, CEO of Indiana Electric Cooperatives. “It is incumbent upon us to work together and help one another in times of disaster, to make sure our power delivery systems are repaired as quickly, safely and cost-effectively as possible.”
Steven Johnson is a contributing writer for NRECA.
