Duke Energy warns of possible multiple-day power outage

Ryan Mosier, communications director for Duke Energy said shortly before noon Sunday 150,000 customers were without power in South Carolina -- including about 26,000 in Sumter.

He said company personnel had to wait for conditions to improve to begin assessing damage.

All aspects of the company's distribution system are being assessed, he said, including using helicopters to view major transmission and distribution lines.

"We have significant damage to our system," Mosier said. "We have lots of trees down; lot's of wires down; lots of snapped poles.

"This is going to be a multi-day event for many customers," he said.

He said he could not yet give specifics yet on when power may be restored.
Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen said, "Quite a few elected officials have contacted them.. We have no control over them so all we can do is express our concern."
McElveen said he was told a transmission line coming into Sumter was damaged.
"People are discouraged they have not seen many Duke Energy trucks on the streets," he said.
He said major roads are blocked by trees with wires in them which cannot be dealt with by city crews.
"Our guys have been out there, the fire department has probably cleared a couple of hundred trees working to get roads clear, many of which are state roads," McElveen said.

Mosier said Duke Energy will be setting up a base camp in Sumter.
"It will look like a military operation," he said.

Resources from outside the Carolinas will be arriving to assisted in recovering from the storm, Mosier said. He explained that companies usually have mutual assistance agreements that are used when there is a major regional event such as Matthew and power companies from outside the affected area would be sending crews to assist.

"You'll see a lot of trucks that don't have the Duke Energy logo," he said.
McElveen said motor vehicle accidents are a real concern as much of the city remains without power, and many roads leading into Sumter remain closed.
"People are frustrated," he said. The community has been through two federally declared disasters in about a year and if you go back to February of 2014, that's three in a short time, he said.

"That is a big load for a community our size to shoulder."

He said citizens should be proud of the work put in by city and county personnel.

"People can see what they have been doing the last few days," he said. "We should be proud of their work."

For those without electricity and needing shelter, a post storm shelter has opened at the Parks & Recreation location on Haynsworth, next to Patriot Hall, according the City of Sumter.

Black River Electric Co-op working to restore service

Brenda Chase, a spokesperson for Black River Electric Co-op said Sunday the company has about 15,000 customers without power.

“We have crews throughout all four of our service areas,” she said. Black River provides service in Sumter, Clarendon, Lee and Kershaw counties.

Chase said crews from Virginia were already on scene and more crews were expected from Georgia to assist in getting power restored.

She said she could not predict exactly when power would be restored to the company’s customers.

“We are making progress and it kind of depends on where you are,” Chase said. “Some will be restored today and others a little longer. In remote areas, it could be a couple of days.

“Some issues are harder to fix than other,” she said.

She said nine poles along SC 378 past the flea market were snapped by a large tree and “quite a few” substations were down.