Utilities work to restore power in rural areas

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Lights were back on for most of the 300,000 people across South Carolina who lost power after ice, sleet and snow blanketed the state.

But as many as 70,000 South Carolinians remain without power, and it could be this weekend before they are out of the dark, utility officials said.

Winter precipitation swept across the state starting Sunday in the Upstate and reaching inland coastal areas by Monday evening. Ice forced heavy tree limbs onto frozen power lines, sending residents across the state in search of warmth at hotels or makeshift shelters.

Utilities have been working on large circuits that provide power to many customers. After that, they begin work on smaller circuits, mostly in rural areas, that serve small pockets of individuals.

"We are now getting to a point where the progress could start slowing down," said Robin Montgomery, spokesman for South Carolina Electric and Gas, which reported 30,000 customers without power Wednesday afternoon. Montgomery said it could take until this weekend to restore power to everyone.

Progress Energy reported 35,800 customers without power and Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative reported 2,000 customers without power Wednesday. Progress said most of its customers would have power by midnight Thursday but they would be working to restore power to a few pockets on Friday.

"We're still going real, real slow because you get into those individual outage situations," Mid-Carolina spokesman Eddie Richardson said. "They're so scattered."

But with sunny weather Thursday, Richardson said he hoped to finish the job within the day. Temperatures across the state were predicted to reach the 50s.

Crews from out of state and from other parts of the state headed to the Midlands and Pee Dee areas to help get the power back on.

Gov. Mark Sanford on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in South Carolina, allowing utility trucks from other states to travel in South Carolina without having to stop at weigh stations.

SCE&G officials said they have called in workers from North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

The ice storm is likely the worst the state has seen since December 2002, when roughly 300,000 customers in the Upstate were left without power, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service said.

But some in the Midlands area said the damage was comparable to when Hurricane Hugo hit in 1989.

"Hurricane Hugo would be the only thing approaching this storm in terms of power outages," Columbia Mayor Bob Coble said.

Slippery roads caused several collisions.

The Highway Patrol had responded to more than 2,500 accidents since Sunday, mostly in the Upstate and in the Midlands. Six people died in weather-related traffic accidents, the Highway Patrol said.