Mutual Aid in Action: Wake Electric’s Response to Hurricane Helene
When Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina, it largely spared Wake Electric’s territory, but it left a path of destruction in the mountains. One of Wake Electric’s sister co-ops, Blue Ridge Energy, was hit hard, with tens of thousands of members losing power at the storm’s peak. Faced with massive outages across rugged mountain terrain, it would take an extended effort to restore power completely. And when one co-op needs help, the rest answer the call.
The morning after the storm hit Wake Electric sent out a crew to join Blue Ridge Energy’s restoration efforts. Each week after that, a fresh crew of six or seven linemen was rotated in to keep the work going. For the first week, a warehouseman was sent along in addition to the linemen to help manage equipment and supplies, ensuring the affected co-op’s team could focus on what they do best: getting the lights back on. In total, Wake EMC sent 21 employees to restore power over three weeks. Our contractor crews went to the southern states that were affected during this time to lend support.
The recovery was no small task. It took three weeks of round-the-clock work to bring power back to every member in their service area. Wake’s crews—along with teams from other co-ops—played an essential role in supporting our sister co-op through this process. Our final crew returned from the mountains on October 14th.
This is what it means to be part of a cooperative. We help our own, whether they’re within our service territory or across the state. Mutual aid isn’t just a nice idea—it’s a cornerstone of what makes co-ops unique. We work for the benefit of the communities we serve, not for profit, and when one co-op needs a hand, we show up, no questions asked.
It’s fitting that this effort came during October, National Cooperative Month, a time to reflect on the values that set cooperatives apart. This action of mutual aid in the wake of Hurricane Helene is just one example of how co-ops stand together when it counts the most. This spirit of collaboration is what ensures we’re not just a collection of businesses but a network of neighbors.
We’re proud of the employees who made the trip to the mountains. Their hard work reminds us that being part of a co-op means more than providing reliable electricity—it means being ready to step up for others when they need us, just as we know they’d do for us.
That’s the power of cooperation. That’s what makes Wake Electric, and co-ops everywhere, special.