Kansas electric cooperatives head to South Carolina for hurricane restoration efforts Fifteen Kansas electric cooperatives have answered the call from Aiken Electric Cooperative in Aiken, South Carolina, to provide mutual aid assistance after Hurricane Helene left its service territory devastated and 100,000plus of its members initially without power.

More than 80 lineworkers from Kansas electric coops convoying with nearly 40 pieces of equipment — from bucket trucks to diggers to skid steers — left Kansas the morning of Oct. 3 to aid in Aiken’s power restoration efforts.

At the height of the storm, Aiken EC reported 92% of its system was down, leaving only a few thousand members with power. As of Wednesday, Oct. 2, 50% of their members were still without power. The damage was so severe, Aiken Electric Cooperative reports that “it’s more than power restoration but rather a complete system rebuild.”

The electric cooperative mutual aid model allows electric coops to help each other during times of need. This approach permits coops to “borrow” restoration workers from other coops, thereby increasing the workforce response to areas impacted by a major outage event. It’s essentially about neighbors helping neighbors, even when those neighbors are fellow coops located hundreds of miles away.

Electric coops were formed to provide reliable electric service to our members at the lowest reasonable cost, and mutual aid has been a fundamental part of our DNA since coops were formed. The concept of mutual aid originated with the rural electrification efforts in the 1930s. From the very beginning, electric coops relied on each other to assist in times of need, and mutual aid provides an essential safety net in times of crisis.


For more information visit www.freestate.coop.