Tropical Storm Helene: GA Power shares damage estimates, how much is left to repair after storm

ATLANTA — As it works to restore power to the Georgians impacted by Tropical Storm Helene, Georgia Power said the company had so far gotten the lights back on for about 690,000 customers.

Still, Georgia Power said that Helene, the “most destructive hurricane in [the] company’s history” had made some of the repairs difficult due to extensive tree and flooding damage, as well as road closures.

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However, their current “rapid response” was made possible through what Georgia Power called its new “smart grid” technology and the fast work of pre-positioned teams.

In terms of the current state of affairs, Georgia Power said that as of midday Sunday, they were working to restore power to about 425,000 customers who still don’t have electricity.

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Here’s the current tally of damage and infrastructure from Helene that Georgia Power still has in the works:

• 5,000+ power poles that must be repaired or replaced
• 9,000+ spans of wire equivalent to an estimated 425 miles
• 500+ transformers
• 1,500+ trees on power lines that must be removed or addressed to restore power

To make sure they can address power restoration as fast as they can, Georgia Power said they are continuing to use “additional resources from outside of its system and currently has more than 15,000 personnel engaged in response, including support from Alabama Power, Mississippi Power and dozens of other companies. The response force currently engaged is larger than the company’s response to other major hurricanes including Michael, Irma and Zeta.”

In the metro Atlanta area, Columbus, Macon, Rome and Albany, Georgia Power said restoration efforts were mostly finished, though they’re still working on the state’s hardest hit areas.

Georgia Power said there was still “the potential for further damage and power outages that could occur due to the saturated ground and weakened trees” while they worked on repairs across the state.

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