Hurricane Michael enters Georgia, 65,000 customers without power

Hurricane Michael arrived in Georgia this evening and is impacting service to Georgia Power customers. The company is prepared to respond with approximately 3,900 personnel from the company, other Southern Company operating companies and assisting utilities ready to restore power as quickly and safely as possible following the storm. All of Georgia Power's resources are being held and dedicated to storm restoration efforts in the state following Hurricane Michael.

Georgia Power expects damage due to high winds, heavy rain and fallen trees. Once the storm passes, the company must wait until conditions are safe for damage assessment teams to enter the impacted zones and begin the restoration process, followed by repair crews, which could take several days, depending on the amount of damage and safe access to the area. As weather conditions improve, restoration efforts will accelerate, but it could take an extended period of time for all customers to be restored.

When severe weather strikes, Georgia Power has access to additional resources available as part of the Southern Company system, which includes multiple electric and gas companies serving more than 9 million customers nationwide. Additionally, Georgia Power is part of a national mutual assistance network consisting of dozens of utilities from around the country, and the company is able to tap into reinforcements when needed to restore power to Georgia customers following a storm. The company has contacted and requested aid through the mutual assistance network and additional resources have been assigned.

 

Damage Update

• As of 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, there are more than 65,000 customers without power in Georgia and more than 600 individual cases of damage (including broken poles and lines) the company is working to repair.
  
• Damage and outages are primarily concentrated in South and West Georgia.

 

Tools You Can Use

• Outage Alerts - Subscribe to the free Georgia Power Outage Alert service to receive personalized notifications and updates via text message.
  
• Outage & Storm Center - Available at www.georgiapower.com/storm, customers can visit this site to sign up for Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information. Customers can report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at 888-891-0938.  
• Outage Map - Housed within the Outage & Storm Center, Georgia Power's interactive Outage Map provides near real-time information, allowing users to see where outages are occurring across the state and track estimated restoration times.
• Georgia Power Mobile App - Download the Georgia Power mobile app for Apple and Android devices to access storm and outage information on the go.
• @GeorgiaPower on X (formerly Twitter) - Follow @GeorgiaPower on X (formerly Twitter) for storm tips, outage updates, customer service and more.

 

After the Storm Safety Tips

• Watch for downed wires. Downed power lines may be hidden by debris or fallen trees.
  
• Never touch any downed wire or attempt to remove tree branches from power lines - it can kill.
• Don't step in standing water or saturated ground where downed lines may be present. They could be electrified.
• Avoid chain link fences. They may be electrified by a downed line out of sight and conduct electricity over great distances.

 

For more on the damage assessment and restoration process, visit our YouTube channel.