15-02-2025
This SC city plans to bury some of its power lines. Here's why
Hurricane Helene brought many lessons, among them how vulnerable Greenville residents were when power lines throughout the city went down.
Some 90% of homes lost power.
Now, Greenville City Council wants to spend $517,000 to install lines underground. Some of that expenditure would be reimbursed by Duke Energy since it owns the lines.
The ordinance passed unanimously on first reading. A final reading will take place Feb. 24.
Duke Energy spokesman Ryan Mosier said few areas in the city of Greenville weren't impacted by Helene.
The city will address one block of Stone Avenue, north of downtown and a gateway to several neighborhoods including North Main and Earle Street. Four businesses would benefit.
The other is 1.5 miles on Augusta Street between Oregon Street and Mauldin Road, which is a mix of business and residences.
Part of the problem the city wants to address is the power lines crossing over the roads.
'We need to look at things in a different way,' Mayor Pro Tem Dorothy Dowe said.'We were tested.'
'Improving safety, removing eyesores,' the city said on Facebook.
If approved on second reading, work would begin late spring to early summer.
The aftermath of Hurricane Helene hit Greenville on Sept. 27, but an intense storm three days before damaged parts of the city and a microburst hit the Greenville Zoo.
Helene brought torrential rains, wind gusts, flash floods and caused seven deaths in Greenville County.
Two thirds of traffic lights did not work. Roofs caved as huge trees fell. The Reedy River surged through the downtown with such force it was impossible to see the 28 foot drop of Reedy River Falls. It took weeks to clear fallen trees from roads and damaged homes.
