Power outages still affecting 135,000 South Carolinians Friday night after Ian storm

Morgan Hughes, Chris Trainor

Some 135,000 people were still without power in South Carolina Friday night, as storm Ian, which has been downgraded from hurricane status, moved northward through the state and into North Carolina.

Outage maps from electrical providers across the state showed the number was even greater at times Friday. At one point more than 200,000 people statewide were affected.

Dominion Energy reported more than 52,000 customers were impacted by outages as of 7:53 p.m. Friday. Many of those were in coastal areas, though there were outage across the Midlands as well.

More than 100,000 Dominion Energy customers were affected by power outages as of 2:45 p.m. Friday, shortly after Hurricane Ian made landfall on South Carolina’s coast.
More than 100,000 Dominion Energy customers were affected by power outages as of 2:45 p.m. Friday, shortly after Hurricane Ian made landfall on South Carolina’s coast.

Electrical cooperatives across the state reported nearly 32,000 meters were without power at about 8 p.m. Friday.

Duke Energy reported more than 21,000 customers were without power in South Carolina as of 8 p.m. Friday.

And about 30,000 Santee Cooper customers in the Myrtle Beach area were still without power as of 8 p.m. Friday.

Nanette Edwards with the state’s Office of Regulatory Staff reported at least 69,000 were without power statewide as of 12:30 p.m. during a briefing with Gov. Henry McMaster as the storm bared down on the state Friday. Those numbers have fluctuated throughout the day. At one point, upwards of 200,000 South Carolinians were without power Friday.

Forecasters still warned of rain and strong winds in the Columbia area Friday night.

The strong winds could cause damage to buildings like sheds and mobile homes, as well as lead to snapped or uprooted trees, the National Weather Service warns. Debris could also block roadways.

Power outages were anticipated in much of South Carolina, as the wind may down power lines or otherwise disrupt service. If a power line is downed, it could still contain electrical currents and residents should avoid them, emergency management officials warn.

Energy companies advise that crews will be working throughout the day Friday to address outages, but are not able to use bucket trucks if winds are greater than 35 mph.

  • Check outages from Dominion Energy here.

  • Check outages from electric cooperatives here.

  • Check outages from Duke Energy here.

  • Check outages from Santee Cooper here.

Report outages in your area to your electricity provider here.

This story will be updated periodically as the number of outages changes.

Advertisement