It will be several more days before power is fully restored across Georgia, utility company officials say.
Nearly a quarter-million Georgia Power customers and approximately 127,000 EMC customers are still without electricity more than 24 hours after Hurricane Zeta roared through the state. The storm killed three people in North Georgia and caused widespread damage and power outages. Most of the outages are from metro-Atlanta north, including more than 40,000 in Northeast Georgia.
Thursday’s storm knocked out a transmission line that feeds substations in parts of Habersham and Rabun counties, causing thousands of outages. More trees fell overnight Thursday, making an already challenging job more difficult.
“While the company continues to assess damage, customers in the hardest-hit areas should plan ahead for the potential of extended outages, possibly days, due to the vast damage from the storm,” says Georgia Power Company spokesman John Kraft.
Habersham EMC members should also plan for extended outages.
“Due to the widespread outages and extensive damage, HEMC expects restoration efforts to last through the weekend,” says HEMC spokesperson Nicole Dover.
Crews working around the clock
Georgia Power crews restored electricity to nearly 490,000 customers Thursday after Zeta hit, but multiple storms in the Southeast have strained the resources available to help restore remaining outages. The state’s largest utility now expects to have 95% of its service restored by Sunday night (Nov. 1).
“Our crews are working around the clock to get the lights back on,” says Georgia Power Storm Center Manager David Maske.
HEMC crews are also working non-stop, but their efforts have been hampered by the downed transmission line. Nearly a third of HEMC’s approximate 17,000 outages that remain are connected to that line. Georgia Power and the Georgia Transmission Corporation (GTC) are working to repair it. They have to restore power to the substations before crews can restore electricity to individual locations.
“A team specializing in transmission lines must perform that work, and HEMC does not have an estimated time of restoration for the repair to be complete,” says Dover.
Most of the outages in HEMC’s six-county service area are in Habersham, White, and Rabun counties. Additional crews from south Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina were scheduled to arrive Friday to help with the cooperative’s restoration efforts.
Shades of Hurricane Michael
Damage from Hurricane Zeta is similar to the damage Hurricane Michael caused in 2018. Thursday’s storm broke power poles, damaged transformers, and knocked down numerous spans of wire.
According to Dover, the storm broke 30 power poles in HEMC’s service area. “It takes roughly four hours to replace each broken pole, although it may take longer due to terrain and equipment that must be replaced.”
Toppled trees and blocked roads continue to hinder restoration efforts.
“This storm caused an incredible amount of damage across the state that we are working as quickly and safely as possible to assess,” says Maske. “We appreciate our customers’ patience and their support in the coming days.”
As their crews keep working to get the lights on, utility companies urge the public to exercise extreme caution. There are still lots of downed power lines. Electricity can travel through the ground 35 feet or more. Avoid downed power lines and treat them as if they are energized.
