An army of cooperative crews and employees from across North Carolina and the nation have worked tirelessly in the wake of Hurricane Florence to restore power to co-op members, bringing outages down from a historic high of 326,000 on the morning of Saturday, Sept. 15 to just 12,700 outages a week later. As of today, power has been restored to nearly all members across the state.
In a true display of the cooperative spirit, many crews were deployed from less-impacted regions of North Carolina to areas in the southeastern part of the state that were hit hardest by the storm. Crews were also dispatched from states throughout the country to assist in restoration efforts.
An electronic album of the Hurricane Florence photos posted by the state’s electric cooperatives throughout the storm is available on North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives’ Facebook page.
Though the storm has passed, many people and communities are still facing a long road to recovery from catastrophic flooding and other storm damage. Co-op members whose homes were flooded with water that reached the electric meter should be aware that power cannot be restored until inspections are done and approvals are granted. Energizing structures that have been compromised by flood waters that reached the member’s electric meter can result in serious consequences such as house fires, as well as personal injury or even death.
Individuals in need of assistance are urged to visit disasterassistance.gov to find local resources and other information. Co-op members are also reminded to be wary of disaster-related scams. Those who have been the victim of a scam can file a complaint here or call 1-877-5-NO-SCAM toll-free in North Carolina.
North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives have also activated the Human Connections Fund, which allows cooperative employees to make financial contributions that directly benefit co-op employees and members who were impacted by Hurricane Florence in North Carolina. Donations are being accepted through Wednesday, Oct. 3.
Thank you to everyone from across the state who has been involved in our recovery efforts, and to the cooperative members who were impacted by this storm for their patience and support.