Highway 12 at Ocracoke after Hurricane Dorian

If you live in Tideland territory for any length of time you are likely to find yourself timestamping life by memorable hurricanes like Floyd, Isabel, Irene and Florence. If you reside or even vacation at Ocracoke, Dorian is no doubt one of your timeline markers.

Pamlico Power and Light founder P.D. Midgett, Jr. was known for saying, “You never get caught up in the electricity business,” and that was as much due to the forces of nature as it was system growth. The forces of nature have certainly taken some frequent swings at Ocracoke, particularly on the north end of Highway 12.

While recovery is still underway for some homeowners on the island, the village itself has proven extraordinarily resilient due in large part to a strong sense of community that is bolstered by the unwavering support of generations of vacationers from near and far dedicated to Ocracoke’s revival.

Electric system resiliency is a moving target that we can’t always plan for but it’s one we aim to keep pace with and get ahead of, whenever and wherever we can.

Dorian delivered a substantial blow to the north end of Highway 12 resulting in unprecedented erosion of the ferry staging area and leveling large sections of dune lines that the North Carolina Department of Transportation has worked hard to maintain. It also endangered Tideland’s existing infrastructure.

Immediately after Dorian, Tideland undertook a major project to harden the island’s 25kV line. The work involved the replacement of 143 poles along a 6.6-mile stretch of Highway 12 starting at our northernmost recloser and going south towards Ocracoke village. Our capital investment in that work totaled $946,000.

Those areas that Dorian carved out and further exposed to the forces of wind and tide, were newly and significantly impacted by multiple winter storms between December 2023 and April 2024. By the end of September, Tideland will have relocated 17 of the new poles we set in 2020 as the Atlantic Ocean further encroaches on another section of Highway 12. The new poles, moved closer to the Pamlico Sound, will now be afforded an additional layer of protection thanks to a secondary dune line. We are grateful to our partners with the United States Department of the Interior’s National Park Service and NCDOT for facilitating this work critical to service reliability and storm recovery on the island.

Electric system resiliency is a moving target that we can’t always plan for but it’s one we aim to keep pace with and get ahead of, whenever and wherever we can.

With peak hurricane season now underway, our greatest hope is that 2024 provides no new storms that bookmark our lives. But come what may, your electric cooperative is up to the task of response and recovery and then turning the page to ensure a brighter energy future.