JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As more snow is set to hit parts of the Southeast, help is on the way. JEA is heading to South Carolina to standby to restore power, if necessary.
After crews recently returned from providing mutual aid in Virginia, more JEA crews left for Conway, South Carolina, Thursday morning ahead of a major snowstorm to provide mutual aid in restoring power.
The winter storm is expected to bring significant snow and ice to parts of the Southeast and southern mid-Atlantic late this week, including the possibility of icing heavy enough to knock out power and cause tree damage in parts of the central and eastern Carolinas, according to Weather.com.
JEA crews will be ready to restore power in areas that experience outages in Conway, a city near the coastal area of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Nearly 30 JEA team members will deploy to the area, including 26 electric crew members and three fleet support members.
“They will be there as long as they are needed,” JEA Spokesperson Karen McAllister said. “Of course, we are not sure right now of what the impact will be, but JEA crew members will stay there as long as they are needed.”
JEA received a request Wednesday afternoon to provide mutual aid assistance to Santee Cooper, South Carolina’s state-owned electric and water utility.
JEA made a pair of mutual aid trips last year, including to Louisiana to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Crew members went on six different missions in 2020.
The utility said that during times of need, its fellow utilities are always there to help restore power in Northeast Florida.
“When we get calls for mutual aid assistance, our crews are ready. This is what they do. This is what we do best. We are ready to serve our neighboring communities during times of need,” McAllister said.