Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative
Davey uses planning and swift response to help Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative restore power outages caused by the devastating Hurricane Irma in just three days.
The Challenge
Hurricane Irma hit Florida as a category 4 storm the morning of September 10, 2017, tearing off roofs, flooding coastal cities and knocking out power to more than 6.8 million people. It then powered north and hit South Carolina with sustained winds nearing 50 mph, downing tree branches, as well as entire trees and power lines. It also caused the worst tidal surge in South Carolina since Hurricane Hugo in 1989, resulting in a 10-foot high tide, heavy rains and flooding.
In the process, Hurricane Irma knocked out power for more than half of Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative’s accounts. But this storm wasn’t going to stop the not-for-profit, member-owned, electric distribution utility from restoring power to its members quickly and safely.
The Solution
Staying ahead of storm warnings helped Davey handle the clean-up work with only the crews that they use regularly on the Mid-Carolina Electric Coop line miles. By planning ahead, working extra hours and keeping communication lines clear so that the utility workers could tend to damaged lines and set new poles, power was restored to customers in just three days.
The Results
Despite being ranked as the fifth costliest hurricane to hit the United States—causing an estimated $50 billion in damage—Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative and its Davey crews were able to tackle damage and power outages the storm caused swiftly and efficiently.
In fact, Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative was so pleased with Davey’s response during Hurricane Irma that the company awarded Davey three times the amount of miles to maintain this coming year.