BREC: ASSESSMENT PHASE CONTINUES INTO FRIDAY EVENING

 Restoration efforts are ongoing as crews work into Friday evening responding to unprecedented damage to our power grid caused by Tropical Storm Helene.

Hundreds of workers remain deployed throughout our five-county service area, with more arriving and working around the clock to restore service to our members. Efforts will continue through the weekend and into next week. In a statewide press conference this afternoon, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said Tropical Storm Helene caused “more power outages than maybe ever.”

“The damage we have uncovered today is among the worst I’ve seen in my 40-year career, including ice storms,” Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative CEO/President Jim Lovinggood said. “We ask you for patience over the next few days as we work closely with Duke Energy and other partners to repair transmission lines and restore service. Our community is resilient, and we will get through this together.”

The greatest challenge facing the cooperative is the service interruption of seven substations, which remain offline due to transmission issues related to Duke Energy. Transmission lines, which function as the main arteries of our power grid, feed these substations — crucial hubs that distribute power to our members. Until these transmission lines are restored, power to the substations will remain out.

We ask the public for understanding and cooperation as we work to bring power back online. Rest assured, our folks are committed to restoring service as safely and quickly as possible.

As of 4:30 p.m., an estimated 84 percent of our members (approximately 61,600 in total) remain without power due to devastating damage caused by Tropical Storm Helene.

Below are specific outage numbers by county:

Anderson: 10,093

Greenville: 5,538

Oconee: 22,689

Pickens: 23,292

Spartanburg: 43