SRE personnel will work into the night, reinforcements on the way

Update from SRE 4 p.m. Wednesday:


SRE’s linemen have now joined forces with 81 additional linemen and contractors from North Carolina and Indiana co-ops as well as Utilicon and Harper’s Tree Service. Outages are down to 6621 as of 3:30 p.m. and crews will work into the night to restore as many possible. With crews totaling 106 linemen and personnel, SRE hopes to restore power for the vast majority of its members by Thursday but advise some members will likely remain without power into Friday.

The number of EMC customers without power statewide is 187,000, down from 550,000 at the peak of Tropical Storm Irma. Georgia’s co-ops are being assisted by crews from 14 states as of today but may increase in the days ahead.

WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATES:

From mayor Peter Banks:

About 6:30 a.m., our employees got the last home's power restored after 41 straight hours of grueling work in sometimes hazardous conditions. Their dedication is nothing short of magnificent. Say a prayer of thanksgiving for each of them.

From Erin Cook:

Five additional crews from Lumbee, NC joined SRE’s restoration efforts this morning. Outage numbers are down to 7109. The breakdown by county is: Bibb – 506; Coweta – 12; Crawford – 117; Lamar – 2165; Meriwether – 815; Monroe – 966; Pike – 1632; Spalding – 321; Upson – 575.

We anticipate making significant progress throughout our entire territory today but some outages will remain through tomorrow. Twelve more lineman are scheduled to arrive from Indiana today.