Santee Cooper team members are making preparations for the anticipated effects Tropical Storm Helene may have on South Carolina-based Santee Cooper’s service territory, the state-owned utility said on Sept. 25.
Helene is expected to make landfall in Florida as a hurricane on Thursday.
Approximately 2 million South Carolinians depend on the state-owned electric and water utility as their power source, either directly or through the state’s electric cooperatives, it noted.
As of 2 p.m. on Sept. 25, Santee Cooper went to Operating Condition (OpCon) 4 alert status. This means there is a possible threat to Santee Cooper’s electric system, but effects may be limited or uncertain.
At OpCon 4, the utility is primarily:
- Checking and fueling vehicles, including line trucks.
- Making sure communications equipment is in proper working order.
- Taking inventory and procuring supplies as needed, such as utility poles, electric transformers and associated equipment.
- Securing facilities and electric infrastructure prior to the projected impact of the storm.
“Santee Cooper is monitoring the storm and preparing accordingly to help us be best positioned to respond to all of our customers across the state,” said Vicky Budreau, Chief Customer Officer. “If outages do occur, we will begin restoration efforts as soon as we safely can.”