CHELCO update during Hurricane Michael

DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, Fla., October 10, 2018 – At approximately 2:00 p.m. local, over 6,000 CHELCO members are without electricity. Due to extremely hazardous conditions, crews are currently unable to respond.

Power restoration will begin once it is safe for crews to do so. Crews will be dispatched during the storm only to respond to emergencies. In preparation, 100 additional sister cooperative and contracted individuals are currently on stand-by to assist CHELCO in restoration. Additional line workers will be brought in if the damage exceeds current predictions.

Outages can be monitored on CHELCO’s outage map. A link is available at CHELCO.com.

We remind all members to treat downed power lines as live and life threatening. Do not attempt to remove limbs from lines and remain as far away from downed power lines as safely possible.

Once the conditions are safe, crews will assess the damage and restore power to the greatest number of people as possible first. The order of repair is subject to damage and conditions but generally follows this order: transmission lines, substations, main distribution lines, tap lines, then, service lines to individual homes and buildings.

CHELCO offices will be closed Wednesday, Oct. 10, but are expected to open Thursday. Our Santa Rosa Beach location may remain closed subject to hurricane damage and road accessibility. Members can also follow CHELCO on Facebook @myCHELCO or CHELCO.com for office hours, outage information, storm safety and preparation information.

CHELCO is a not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative serving more than 52,000 accounts in Walton, Okaloosa, Holmes and Santa Rosa counties.