‘We don’t cut power, nature cuts it.’ Myrtle Beach power companies prepare for storm

Your power will likely go out at some point during Hurricane Florence, but not because someone at the electric company flipped a switch.

Penelope Hinson of Horry Electric Cooperative said Tuesday that several people have asked if the company planned to cut the power before the storm. She’s never heard of a power company shutting down electricity for a storm, she told The Sun News.

“We don’t cut power, nature cuts it,” she said.

Tracy Vreeland from Santee Cooper echoed Hinson. If the electricity goes out during a storm, it’s because trees or other storm effects knock down power lines.

Both Horry Electric and Santee Cooper representatives say they have crews from other states staged and ready to move in and help get the power back on for customers in the area.

“We’re on standby,” said Vreeland, adding that crews are ensuring that trucks are stocked and gassed up so they are ready to go once it’s safe. Santee Cooper has tanker trucks filled with fuel to make sure their trucks can keep working and not worry about running out of gas.

In addition to the local crews, Santee Cooper has trucks and workers from Florida and Georgia waiting in Columbia and Charleston. Crews will not go out to start repairing lines until the winds fall below 35 mph.

Santee Cooper customers with internet service can report and track outages on the company’s Storm Center website. Horry Electric has its own outage map and online reporting system.

To report an outage by phone to Horry Electric Cooperative, call 843-369-2212. For Santee Cooper, call 888-769-7688.

This story was originally published September 11, 2018 at 1:33 PM.