Weather the Storm: Residential Service Line Conversion

The City of Greenville is pleased to announce the Weather The Storm, Keep It On residential service line conversion program. The program is available to all homeowners in the city of Greenville. Interested homeowners may submit a written request for participation in the program. Requests are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

More detailed information about the program, including a list of Frequently Asked Questions, is available on the City’s web site. The City’s Utility Program Manager is also available to answer any questions and assist you as you navigate through the program.

Background

In December 2005, the Greenville area experienced a catastrophic ice storm, during which thousands of city residents endured days-long power outages. Since that time, the City of Greenville has been working to develop a program that would reduce the time it takes for power to be restored to citizens.

Over the past few years, Duke Energy and the City have worked together to establish an ongoing program to bury service lines in residential areas. A service line is the power line that runs from Duke Energy’s pole to your home’s meter base. Research indicates that burying service lines will reduce the time is takes to restore power in a residential area. Why? Because when severe weather occurs, tree limbs and other debris often disconnect the service line from the side of the home, and in many cases, an electrician is needed to restore the connection. Service lines that are buried are less likely to be damaged during a storm event because they are underground; therefore, each home that has a buried service line eliminates one extra step in the power restoration process.

Program Overview

While converting overhead power lines to underground can be a complex and costly endeavor, the City’s Weather The Storm, Keep It On program has been designed to streamline the process for burying residential service lines and to make it an affordable option for homeowners by providing financial assistance. For each eligible residence, the program will pay up to $1,500 toward the cost of converting the overhead service line to underground. If the total cost of the service line conversion exceeds the $1,500 subsidy paid by the program, the homeowner must pay the remaining balance, in advance, before the work begins. The total cost will vary from residence to residence and will depend on a number of factors.

If your power is similar to the image at left, you have overhead power. The photo on the right shows an underground power line connection.

Application Process

Following is a brief summary of the process:

STEP 1 The homeowner submits a written request for participation to the City’s Utility Program Marketing Coordinator.

STEP 2 If the homeowner meets the eligibility requirements, the Utility Program Manager notifies Duke Energy of the request.

STEP 3 A representative from Duke Energy meets with the homeowner at the residence to determine the scope of the project (this will include identifying a suitable underground route, determining whether the meter base will need to be changed, etc.) and provides the homeowner with a cost estimate.

STEP 4 The homeowner decides whether to proceed and has 30 days to pay any additional cost over the allotted $1,500 subsidy (if necessary).

STEP 5 Once the homeowner has met all applicable conditions, Duke Energy schedules and completes the service line burial work, switches over the power feed and removes the associated overhead service line.

Links

Download Printable Brochure
Download Application
Download FAQs
Download Form for Reimbursement Agreement for Meter Box Conversion Cost Under $1,500
Download Form for Reimbursement Agreement for Meter Box Conversion Cost Over $1,500

More Information

For more detailed information about the Weather The Storm, Keep It On program and how you can benefit, please contact the City’s Utility Program Marketing Coordinator, at 864-467-4449.

Cooperative Program

"Duke Energy is pleased to participate in this program with the City of Greenville. It provides each of our customers inside the city an opportunity to have their overhead service replaced with an underground service. This helps improve Duke’s ability to respond to severe storm outages by reducing the time required to repair overhead services which have been torn down by fallen trees, tree limbs, ice and other weather events."
George Acker,
Duke Energy South Carolina