SCE&G Bringing In Additional Power Crews for Irma

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COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– As South Carolina prepares for Hurricane Irma’s potential impact Monday afternoon, local utilities are also ready.

SCE&G says it has brought in additional crews, nearly  650, from states like Texas, Tennessee, Ohio, and Alabama, and that’s in addition to the 2 thousand storm recovery crews already in the state.

“The only way you can get the power back on is with backs, and knees, and trucks. That’s going to get the power back on. Those front line employees are critical to a recovery effort,” Kissam said.

The biggest thing is safety, and SCE&G said to always assume any downed power line is still active and stay away. Be on the lookout for exposed underground power lines because of uprooted trees, and the smell of natural gas. Then communicate with them immediately to get certified crews out there.

There are many ways to report outages.

First, SCE&G said to verify and update your contact information with them by first logging into your account or calling them at 1-800-251-7234.

To report an outage by text, register for the text option online at www.sceg.com. Then login and look for “Account Options” feature. Then find “Activate Text Options” and follow the instructions. Once registered, if you experience an outage you can text the word “OUT” to 467234.

To report an outage from a mobile device, go to the internet from your internet-ready mobile device or phone and visit  www.sceg.com/mobile and click “Outages & Emergencies.”

To report an outage by phone, call 1-888-333-4465.

Also, make sure to follow @SCEGNews on Twitter and Facebook for most recent updates.