CREWE, Va – Southside Electric Cooperative continues extensive outage restoration efforts from the devastating effects of Hurricane Michael that hit its service area on Thursday. According to the company, as of 11:00 a.m. Sunday, approximately 11,017 SEC members remain without power.
"Cooperative linemen, mutual aid and contract crews have been working tirelessly to restore power throughout SEC's service territory," a spokesman said.
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At this time, crews have discovered approximately 80 broken poles. This number has risen from the 40 broken poles known as of Saturday, and this number is expected to increase as restoration efforts continue.
Despite massive damage including fallen trees and flooded areas, approximately 28,000 members have been restored from the initial 40,000 impacted.
While SEC crews have been working to restore power since the storm’s arrival Thursday evening, mutual aid crews and contractors have been working alongside SEC to restore power since Friday. At time of release Sunday, the co-op had approximately 180 total personnel working towards restoration efforts on Sunday, Oct. 14. These crews will continue working until power is restored to all, the spokesman said.
Due to the extent of damage to SEC’s distribution system, including a large number of broken poles, outage restoration efforts are expected to last throughout the weekend and into next week.
"Please know that we at SEC understand that extended outages are extremely frustrating, and we certainly empathize," the company said in a release.
SEC reminds the public to stay away from any downed power lines and equipment. \To report outages,  call: 1-866-878-5514.Â
Southside Electric Cooperative is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative that serves more than 56,000 homes and businesses in portions of 18 counties in central and southern Virginia.
Headquartered in Crewe, SEC has district offices in Altavista, Crewe, Dinwiddie and Powhatan.