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Power Restoration

Restoration Process

Greenville Utilities operates a 24-hour Control Center so that we can respond to any kind of emergency -- severe weather, power outages, downed tree limbs on electrical lines, water main breaks, natural gas leaks, etc.

If you have an emergency, call us, toll-free at 1-855-SOS-2GUC (855-767-2482).

During storms, for the safety of our crews our buckets cannot be in the air when sustained wind speeds are 30+ mph.  Our crews will continue to respond during that time, but cannot perform work that requires use of a bucket until the winds die down.

This infographic gives an overview of the restoration process.

What’s Involved In Power Restoration

Under our power restoration plan, certain GUC customers are given priority. These include hospitals, any schools or other facilities used as disaster shelters, GU’s facilities, county and city facilities including all public safety facilities and the airport, and public facilities or private homes with people on life support systems.

1. We begin by repairing any damage in the lines to and from our Sub-Transmission System-where high voltage power is received from the generation source. While damage at this level is less likely, when it does occur, it can affect tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

2. The next step is to check for damage at our Substations-where the voltage is reduced to a level safe for distribution. Each local substation serves several thousand customers, so repairing damage here may restore power to a large number of people.

3. We then proceed to repair any damage in the Customer Distribution System, which includes: Main “Feeder” Lines, “Lateral” or “Tap” Lines and Service Lines. Repairing the Customer Distribution System is based on safety concerns and restoring power to the greatest number of people. In general, we repair the main feeder lines first, followed by the lateral and service lines.

NOTE: If your power outage is caused by damage between the line to your home and the service installation, it is the customer’s responsibility to have an electrician repair the damage before GUC can restore power.