Palmetto Electric Contributes to Environmental Sustainability
Environmental sustainability is a key priority for the Town of Hilton Head Island. Oftentimes, we may think of this as keeping the air we breathe clean, protecting our sea turtles and waterways, preserving trees, and creating open space for beautification purposes. All our residents and businesses have a role in interacting with the environment to preserve our air, water, and other natural resources.
I want to share with you a milestone in environmental sustainability that quietly happened in our community a few months ago that deserves attention and thanks to our local power company, Palmetto Electric Cooperative.
As you ride around the island, you may notice that there are no overhead electrical power lines and poles. That’s because Palmetto Electric has been removing and replacing them with underground equipment. Last year, at the end of August, the final overhead pole that was originally installed on Jonesville Road in 1982 was removed, marking the end of a 17-year burial project. There were plans to celebrate this occasion, but they had to be canceled due to COVID-19. Nonetheless, Palmetto Electric’s crew forged ahead and pulled up the pole to cap off this project.
The project began as a partnership between the town and Palmetto Electric in 2004, with a common goal of improving the appearance of the island and the resiliency of Palmetto Electric’s system to storms, strong winds, downed trees and outages. Since then, Palmetto Electric worked diligently to remove 3,574 poles and 1,238 overhead transformers and convert 115 miles of overhead distribution lines to underground. With a final cost of $34.77 million, the project was funded mostly by franchise fees collected by the town.
There are benefits of having underground lines. We gain beautiful scenic views across the landscape of our island. During major storms, our electrical crews and fire rescue teams can respond to emergencies without worry of downed overhead power lines blocking their way. On behalf of our residents, I thank Palmetto Electric for achieving this milestone in environmental sustainability and for its 71-year history of service to Hilton Head Island.
