MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – As of midmorning today, more than 25,000 Santee Cooper retail customers had lost power due to early impacts from Hurricane Florence.
On the transmission side, two lines were locked out, both in the northern Horry County area. The transmission outages affect customers of Santee Cooper and Horry Electric Cooperative.
Santee Cooper currently has distribution crews working in all service areas except the North Myrtle Beach-Little River corridor, where winds are too strong for safe operations. As conditions deteriorate, crew activity will be restricted for safety reasons: we cannot operate bucket trucks when sustained winds reach 35 mph or greater. Current forecasts call for tropical storm winds through Saturday evening.
The damage may present safety issues to residents and to line crews, especially concerning downed power lines and generators. Please remember:
- To ensure your safety and the safety of our line technicians, electric generators should be operated according to strict guidelines. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions completely. Never connect the portable generator to existing house wiring. Connect the generator directly to appliances. Operate generators outside; they emit harmful fumes and contain combustible fuel. Add fuel to the generator only when it is not running and has had time to sufficiently cool. Always properly ground the generator before operating. Refer to the owner’s manual for specific instructions.
- Never touch, drive over or try to move a downed power line or anything the line is touching. The line could still be live even if it doesn’t appear to be energized. Call Santee Cooper at 1-888-769-7688 to report downed power lines. Customers can also report power outages at that number or at stormcenter.santeecooper.com.
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