CAYCE, S.C. (OCT. 9, 2024) – As of midday Oct. 8, Dominion Energy had restored power to nearly 100 percent of customers impacted by Hurricane Helene’s widespread trail of destruction across South Carolina. A 14-state army of lineworkers, tree crews and employee volunteers led the herculean mission to rebuild the company’s electric grid and restore power to more than 446,000 customers following historic devastation from the mountains to the coast, including densely wooded and rural terrain in the western portion of the state where access was severely limited.

In the aftermath of havoc from Helene across an expansive stretch of the Palmetto State, pre-staged crews quickly began to work around the clock. Their labor-intensive work entailed replacing more than 1,000 transformers, 2,300 poles and 7,000 spans of wire to get the lights back on safely and as efficiently as they could while working in dangerous conditions.

A team of employee and community volunteers worked tirelessly to provide a home away from home at hotels and temporary camps throughout the state for more than 4,000 crew members. Behind the scenes, employee volunteers assumed storm roles – most that were unrelated to their regular jobs. They managed a dizzying array of logistics, which included securing hundreds of hotel rooms, catering more than 80,000 meals, outfitting hundreds of cots with clean linens and preparing more than 1,000 bags of laundry for crews from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.  

“I am so proud of our family of employees and what they have accomplished in the last 12 days,” said Keller Kissam, president of Dominion Energy South Carolina. “They have exemplified our highest calling in life, and that is to serve others. Leaving their own families for more than two weeks, they embodied what it means to be their brother’s keeper, to be their sister’s keeper and to love their neighbors as themselves. I am humbled to stand with them and their families and say thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing all of us back from the darkness and into the wonderful light.”

Kissam, who was in the field regularly during the days-long response to Helene, is grateful for the outpouring of support from customers and communities.

“This storm had no regard for social status or demographics as it ravaged our communities, leaving severe damage that reminds you of Hurricane Hugo 35 years ago,” he said.

“However, the extension of patience and grace from these same communities was so universal and so humbling as we worked to restore their power. I am so proud to have spent my entire life in South Carolina, but in the aftermath of this natural disaster, I am even prouder of this great state of neighbors helping neighbors and displaying a level of empathy and compassion that, quite frankly, demonstrates the purpose of it all – when we come together and serve others, that is where true restoration occurs.”

Watch this video of Kissam expressing his appreciation: Coming together after Helene.

With redundant feeds throughout the company’s power delivery system, crews can often restore power to customers before all damages have been repaired. Work on equipment damaged by Helene will continue for several weeks, particularly in the western region of the state. Customers should continue to use extreme caution in and around utility work zones.

Dominion Energy is also monitoring and preparing for potential impacts from Hurricane Milton. Additional resources from Dominion Energy Virginia already on the ground will remain in South Carolina in preparation for Hurricane Milton. This includes approximately 300 additional lineworkers and tree crew members who will be strategically deployed as needed.

About Dominion Energy

Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond, Va., provides regulated electricity service to 3.6 million homes and businesses in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and regulated natural gas service to 400,000 customers in South Carolina. The company is one of the nation’s leading developers and operators of regulated offshore wind and solar power and the largest producer of carbon-free electricity in New England. The company’s mission is to provide the reliable, affordable, and increasingly clean energy that powers its customers every day. Please visit DominionEnergy.com to learn more.