Thousands lose power in Berkeley County overnight as temperatures plummet to low 20s

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Thousands of people were without power overnight in Berkeley County as temperatures dipped into the low 20s.

Berkeley Electric Cooperative said a fault occurred on a transmission line near JW Aluminum, which ultimately caused the power outage.

The company said crews began working with its transmission provider around 2:30 a.m. to restore service to the Crowfield subdivision and roughly 8,700 customers.

Crews worked throughout the night and had to replace two poles before power could be restored to a Crowfield substation.

“Santee Cooper estimates it will take six more hours to finish the needed repairs and fully restore transmission service to the Crowfield substation. Berkeley Electric has restored service to homes where we can for now and continues to pickup more members as possible. About 6,200 without power. The temperature is 23 degrees, and the load across the redundant parts of the distribution system is high,” the company said in a 5 a.m. update.

At 7 a.m., Berkeley Electric said work was halfway complete and a new pole was set. Approximately 6,200 customers were still without power in the Goose Creek area.

“Santee Cooper is about halfway complete with temporary repairs to the transmission service near Berkeley Electric’s Crowfield substation. A new pole is set. Transmission crews from the Pinewood area are here assisting the local Santee Cooper crews,” Berkeley Electric said.

Overnight temperatures dipped into the low 20s, which appears to have put a strain on the service.

Count on 2 for updates.