S.C. utilities scramble to repair hurricane damage

South Carolina utilities Tuesday continued rushing repair crews to areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Hundreds of workers and contractors from SCE&G, Progress Energy, Duke Power, Santee Cooper, as well as electric cooperatives, are going to help assess damage, erect power poles, put up lines, clear debris and trim trees.

Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast on Monday, packing winds of 145 mph, in one of the most punishing storms on record in the United States. Nearly 2 million customers were without power Tuesday in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

“It looks like it’s going to be a massive undertaking,” said Jim Owen, spokesman for Washington-based Edison Electric Institute, a group of 200 investor-owned power companies.

On Tuesday, 32 Progress Energy Carolinas workers from the Florence area were on a 750-mile drive to Covington, La.

The group faces hazards besides downed power lines, said James Parnell, operations manager for the team.

“I’ve heard alligators are there,” Parnell said. “You’ve got to watch out for fatigue, heat exhaustion. ... Sometimes, we’re working in the rain — and lightning.”

The Florence group was part of a convoy of Progress Energy workers from the Carolinas traveling in 16 large repair trucks and about a dozen support vehicles. It included:

• The repair crew

• Scouts who check for road problems and count how many utility poles must be replaced

• A mechanic for the trucks

• Safety personnel who advise workers and help keep them safe

• Logistical people who ensure crews have food, shelter and communications.

A total of 200 workers from Progress Energy Carolinas and 280 employees of private contractors that serve the company are expected to participate in relief efforts, spokesman Garrick Francis said.

Meanwhile, South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. will send 100 employees to help Mississippi Power on Thursday, spokesman Eric Boomhower said. About 270 SCE&G-related workers will help clean up. Contractors for SCE&G already have sent 125 repair workers and 40 to 45 tree trimmers to Florida.

South Carolina’s electric cooperatives have sent 93 of their line workers to Alabama to help Baldwin Electric Membership.

The cooperatives also have released 215 contract workers to help, said Lou Green, spokesman for the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina.

Workers from the co-ops and their contractors are traveling with: 40 trucks for digging pole holes; 92 “bucket trucks” for repairing lines; 10 service trucks; and 47 pickups.

On Tuesday, Duke Power allowed private contractors to take 160 more repair workers to storm-damaged areas. Duke Power has released 276 such contractor workers to help.

The company today could send “a few hundred” employees, depending on whether the company has to fix storm damage in the Carolinas, spokesman Tim Pettit said.

The state-owned Santee Cooper utility has sent about 25 repair workers to storm areas, spokesman Phil Fail said. Those workers were fixing lines in Hollywood, Fla., on Tuesday and were scheduled to move west along the Gulf Coast to repair other areas.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. Reach McWilliams at (803) 771-8308 or jmcwilliams@thestate.com.