Helene latest: Aiken Electric, Dominion continue to make progress; free food available
Oct. 6—Slowly but surely power is being restored across Aiken and Edgefield counties as crews continue to arrive in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene.
Dominion reported 7,078 of its 62,038 Aiken County customers remain without power as of 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6. In Edgefield County, 1,138 out of 7,565 customers are without service.
Dominion's president said it now has one lineman in the area for every seven households.
Aiken Electric Cooperative is also working to restore power for its members.
The outage map indicates 6,000 of Aiken Electric's 36,861 members in Aiken County remain without power as of 3 p.m. p.m. Oct. 6. In Edgefield County, 3,900 of its 7,227 customers don't have service.
A "tent city" has emerged in Graniteville as Aiken Electric houses hundreds of linemen.
Dominion Energy is estimating that 85% of its customers in Aiken County now power restored and that number will improve to 95% by Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 11 p.m. In Edgefield County, it estimates that 85% will have power by 11 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6 and 95% by Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 11 p.m.
Aiken Electric began notifying customers Oct. 2 of estimated restoration times. To add your phone number,for instructions on how to add or update your contact information.
For those who don't have a current phone number or no phone number listed on their account, they will be included in the next round of text alerts as the system updates. Once signed up, customers will receive routine updates based on assessments and progress being made.
Aiken Electric said restoration times could increase or decrease based on this information. If you don't receive the first alert, you can visit our storm updates page for a list of estimated restoration times by area.
Dinner sites
The Salvation Army has two dinner feeding sites that will be open Sunday, Oct. 6, from 5 p.m. until depleted.
1. KJ's in Aiken — 1048 York St. NE
Insurance help
The South Carolina Department of Insurance is offering consumers assistance and remote claims services along with insurance carriers on Monday, Oct. 7, and Tuesday, Oct. 8, in Aiken.
It will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days at the Aldi's Parking Lot, 2510 Whiskey Road.
Representatives from State Farm, USAA, Allstate, South Carolina Farm Bureau, Auto-Owners, Travelers, Progressive, Nationwide and Heritage Insurance Companies will be in attendance along with members of the S.C. DOI's Office of Consumer Services to help consumers file claims and answer insurance-related questions.
The SC DOI's Insurance Fraud Division will share information to help consumers prevent being scammed by bad actors who often show up after a disaster.
Consumers are encouraged to contact the South Carolina Department of Insurance's Office of Consumer Services at 803-737-6180 or visit doi.sc.gov for more information and for helpful tips on navigating the claims process.
Flood insurance policyholders should contact their agent or the NFIP directly to report flood claims at 1-800-427-4219 or visit www.floodsmart.gov for additional information on the NFIP claim process. Suspected insurance fraud should be reported to 1-888-95-FRAUD.
Burn ban
The South Carolina Forestry Commission has revised its State Forester's Burning Ban — effective at 6 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 3 — to include 15 counties: Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Cherokee, Edgefield, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Saluda, Spartanburg and Union counties.
A State Forester's Burning Ban prohibits outdoor burning outside of all unincorporated areas (outside of city limits). This includes yard debris burning, burning for forestry, wildlife or agricultural purposes (prescribed burning), campfires, bonfires and other fires for recreational purposes.
