James January-February 2025 web - Flipbook - Page 67
n the days following Hurricane Helene, as I traveled
through areas such as Valdosta, Vidalia, Savannah
and Augusta visiting our
teams and making sure they had the
resources needed, I witnessed devastation on a scale I could have hardly
ever imagined. Uprooted trees, splintered power poles and intense flooding combined to transform neighborhoods and communities in a way that
most have never witnessed on such
a large scale. It quickly became clear
that Helene was the most destructive
hurricane in Georgia Power’s 140year history, surpassing the damage
wrought by Hurricanes Michael, Matthew and Irma combined.
While I felt disbelief at the devastation on the ground, I remain
inspired by the kindness, resilience
and fighting spirit exhibited by our
employees and neighbors. From handwritten cards and signs with words of
encouragement for lineworkers posted at the areas around our staging
sites, to communities coming together
to share essential resources like food
and water, to local leaders going
above and beyond to coordinate aid,
the worst of Helene brought out the
best in us.
Helene left behind a trail of destruction unparalleled in our state’s
history. Nearly 12,000 power poles
were damaged or destroyed, forests-worth of downed trees brought
down over 1,500 miles of power lines,
more than 345 transmission structures
across the state were damaged and
nearly 6,000 transformers had to be
replaced. Beyond the physical toll,
thousands of Georgians faced weeks
of disruption to their homes, businesses and daily lives.
It’s even more sobering when I
stop to think that some of our very own
teammates— many working to restore
power themselves— were facing devastating damage to their own homes,
cutting their way through fallen trees
(and some even walking for miles) to
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