Hurricane Matthew: Georgia Power Expects 90 Percent Restoration By Wednesday

ATLANTA, GA — Georgia Power said on Monday it expects to have service restored to more than 90 percent of customers impacted by Hurricane Matthew, who can accept power, by midnight Wednesday.

The hurricane, which pounded the Georgia coast with winds of more than 100 miles per hour and extensive flooding over the weekend, was the strongest storm to hit the region in a century and interrupted service to more than 340,000 customers.

Here's the company's progress so far:

• Georgia Power has restored power to 100 percent of impacted customers who can accept power in Kingsland and expected to have power restored for nearly 100 percent of impacted customers who can accept power in Statesboro by Monday night with Brunswick, St. Simons and Jekyll Islands following on Tuesday.
• Georgia Power was prepared to respond to damage caused by Hurricane Matthew with approximately 5,000 personnel from Georgia Power and assisting utilities working around the clock over the weekend.
• Power has been restored to more than 218,000 customers; approximately 122,000 customers are without power in Coastal Georgia.
• Damage and power outages are concentrated in Chatham, Glynn, Effingham,Bulloch and Liberty counties.

"With the evacuation order lifted, we are working closely with the state and local law enforcement to expedite our travel in the area. We encourage people to limit driving on local roads as much as possible to allow our crews to move from site to site as quickly and safely as possible," said Aaron Strickland, Georgia Power Emergency Operations Director. "Our crews continue to report very hazardous conditions, including fallen trees and sustained flooding, and we ask residents to keep safety in mind as they begin returning to the area."
Georgia Power estimates that damage from Hurricane Matthew could include:

• Approximately 1,000 power poles broken or damaged.
• Nearly 80 miles of wire (2,000 spans) needing to be replaced.
• More than 1,800 fallen trees causing damage to electrical equipment.

The company estimates that thousands of customers in some of the hardest hits areas of the coast may not be able to reconnect to Georgia Power service due to extensive damage. Property owners should contact a qualified electrician to make repairs to private property prior to reconnecting to service.

Image Courtesy Georgia Power