Each morning this week, Keith Avery, CEO of Newberry Electric Cooperative, arrives at his office and switches on The Weather Channel. He then begins making phone calls, coordinating crews and equipment to address potential outages if a predicted ice storm devastates power infrastructure throughout South Carolina.
Avery has managed disasters previously. Almost all of his 14,000 customers experienced power loss when Hurricane Helene’s remnants swept through in 2024.
However, the incoming ice storm concerns him even more because ice-laden trees and power lines can continue collapsing well after the storm has moved on, leaving people without heat.
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“I hate ice storms,” Avery said. “They are worse than hurricanes.”…