Columbus, OH—For the second time in a week, Ohio's electric cooperatives sent mutual aid to fellow co-ops in North and South Carolina following Hurricane Helene. Over 700,000 people are still without power in Southeast after the devastating storm and flooding.
A total of 87 lineworkers from 19 Ohio co-ops have volunteered to head south to help in the power restoration efforts-that's 25% of the Ohio co-op lineworker workforce.
The first wave of lineworkers left right after Helene hit. The second wave of men left Thursday, and are headed to the most devastated areas of Asheville and Boone, North Carolina.
The cooperatives Ohio is assisting are Laurens Electric Cooperative in Laurens, South Carolina; Broad River Electric Cooperative in Cowpens, North Carolina; EnergyUnited in Statesville, North Carolina; Rutherford Electric in Forest City, North Carolina; and Blue Ridge Energy in Boone, North Carolina.
Laurens Electric Cooperative in Laurens, South Carolina said earlier this week 98% of its members were without power, and the event will likely be the worst disaster in the co-op's history. The mutual aid efforts to get Carolina co-op members back online could take several days to weeks in the hardest hit areas.
WATCH: Drone video of the damage in Laurens Electric Cooperative service area
Mutual aid is common practice for Ohio’s electric co-ops. The co-ops help each other in the form of lineworkers, bucket, and digger trucks, whenever the call for help comes in.
Ohio Co-ops Helping in the Carolinas:
- Adams Rural Electric
- Butler Rural Electric
- Carroll Electric Cooperative
- Consolidated Cooperative
- Darke Rural Electric
- The Energy Co-op
- Firelands Electric Cooperative
- Frontier Power Company
- Guernsey-Muskingum Electric Cooperative
- Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative
- Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative
- Logan County Electric Cooperative
- Lorain-Medina Rural Electric
- Mid-Ohio Energy Cooperative
- Midwest Electric
- North Central Electric Cooperative
- North Western Electric Cooperative
- Pioneer Electric Cooperative
- South Central Power
Carolina Co-ops Receiving Mutual Aid from Ohio:
- Blue Ridge Energy, Boone, NC
- South Central Power, Hancock-Wood, North Central, Lorain-Medina, Darke
- Rutherford Electric, Forest City, NC
- Midwest Electric, Carroll, Firelands, Logan County
- Laurens EC in Laurens, SC
- Holmes-Wayne, Consolidated, Hancock-Wood, North Western
- Energy United in Statesville, NC
- Midwest, Firelands, Logan and Carroll
- Broad River EC in Cowpens, SC
- Pioneer, Butler, GMEC, Frontier, The Energy Co-op
