A Taxing Storm Season
There’s no doubt about it – the 2024 storm season has been a grueling one, and unfortunately, it’s not over yet. Hurricane season concludes November 30th. Gresco’s teams worked around the clock following Hurricane Helene, which made landfall on Thursday, September 26th, and Hurricane Milton, which made landfall on Thursday, October 10th.
According to an article from USA Today, over 3.5 million homes and businesses were without power following Hurricane Helene across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina (1.25 million of which were electric cooperatives, with 35 customers affected) and over 3.3 million from Hurricane Milton (with 11 customers affected).
The damage from Hurricane Helene was devastating, with many South Georgia customers still without power several weeks later despite tireless, round-the-clock work by line crews. The electrical system sustained significant damage, including numerous broken poles, complicating restoration efforts.
“In my 22 years at Gresco, the effects of Helene have been completely unprecedented – possibly one of the worst storms Gresco has ever dealt with given the number of customers affected,” said Georgia District Manager, Justin Davis.
“One thing I was amazed by was no one was saying, ‘That’s not my job.’ The common cause was to help get the lights back on at all costs,” said Duke Gilkey, Director, Facilities and Risk Management.
Gresco teams from all over our footprint stepped up to help with power restoration efforts.
“Some of our employees were working about 14+ hour days, with approximately 5,800 hours worked since September 27th. Every employee that helped went the extra mile and gave their all to this restoration effort. Thank you all for all the dedication and working together as a team when the days were long and stressful,” said Justin Davis.
To all of our Gresco customers affected by these storms, thank you for your patience and continued trust in us to provide the materials you need. We truly are committed to meeting and exceeding your expectations, even during challenging times. We pray none of us have to face such a storm season ever again, but when storms do come, remember that we are with you every step of the way until every light is back on.
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