Haywood EMC Restores Power to 25,700; continues restoration efforts in hardest-hit areas

Waynesville, N.C. (Oct. 11, 2024; 8:00 a.m.) – Power has been restored for 25,700 of Haywood EMC’s members as crews continue to battle challenging conditions in their efforts to repair and rebuild electric infrastructure across the cooperative’s service territory.

As of 8:00 a.m. Friday, approximately 350 Haywood EMC members are without power. Over the past two weeks, our crews and outside help have worked continuously to rebuild or repair parts of over 85% of our grid. As there are still members facing these outages, our crews will continue these efforts until all power is restored.

"Hurricane Helene was a historic storm, causing devastation far beyond anything I have seen in my 31 years with electric cooperatives across North Carolina." stated Haywood EMC's CEO, Tom Batchelor. "Even the 3 ½ years I spent on the Outer Banks of North Carolina I never experienced hurricane with this much destruction. The challenges that crews are facing in the field are unfathomable, from widespread flooding and landslides to rebuilding electric infrastructure that has been damaged or destroyed by the power of wind and water. Crews are giving it their all to restore power across our 8-county service territory. In many cases, power lines have been completely washed away, and crews are building from the ground up."

Haywood EMC is not alone in taking on the massive effort of restoring power to its members. More than 70 co-op lineworkers from three states and 40 others, including tree trimmers, road graders and operations specialists have joined Haywood EMC crews in the field as part of the restoration effort.

During our crews' surveying, they have discovered damage in new areas and have found significantly more damaged equipment and broken poles in areas that are inaccessible by vehicles. This requires line workers to walk-in equipment and/or replace broken poles by hand, slowing restoration work in these areas.

While our crews are working to restore power, you can help by staying vigilant around work areas. Please avoid traveling on the roads unless absolutely necessary. Keeping the roads clear will help first responders do their jobs and give restoration crews better access to impacted areas. Additionally, many road shoulders are saturated or inaccessible, meaning crews will need to set up trucks and equipment on the roads in some locations. Help us keep our lineworkers safe.

Safety:

• Help keep our crews safe. If you see utility crews working on the side of the road, slow down and drive carefully.
• Never wade into or drive through flood water.
• Only use generators and charcoal grills in well-ventilated areas; a garage does not count as a well-ventilated area.
• Never connect a portable generator directly to a home’s wiring. Instead, use an extension cord to plug lights and appliances into the generator.
• Never touch a downed power line, and remember that sometimes debris can cover fallen lines, making them difficult to spot.

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Haywood EMC is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative supplying electricity to over 29,100 member-owners in Buncombe, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Madison and Transylvania counties in NC as well as Oconee SC and Rabun GA.  For more information, visit www.haywoodemc.com or the cooperative’s social media on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.