Georgia Power is three-quarters of the way through its assessment of Savannah-area damage related to the remnants of Hurricane Helene, the company said Monday.
So far, that appraisal has identified 625 broken utility poles and 1,600 spans of damaged wire in and around the city, said Georgia Power spokesman Matthew Kent.
Individual breaks in the lines can affect larger areas, “so all of that has to be replaced before we can (fully) restore power,” Kent explained. “And each pole can take four to five hours to replace.”
The utility is aiming to have 95% of Savannah customers back online by 10 p.m. Tuesday.
“A lot of people will see restoration before that,” Kent added.
As many as 120,000 Savannah customers were in the dark on Friday as a result of the storm. As of early Monday afternoon, more than 56,000 Chatham County customers remained without power, the company said.
Georgia Power also is working to repair damage to substations, which use transformers to reduce voltage before electricity is transmitted to customers.