Power is expected to be restored to the town of Enfield on Tuesday after a days-long outage, but to make progress, the town had to shut off the power for even more families.
On Tuesday in Enfield, more people were without electricity and air conditioning than on Monday, but Mayor Mondale Robinson said the increased outages are intentional.
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The mayor said crews have been working since 7 a.m. to restore power to the entire town, but they had to shut off power for more people so crews can work safely.
A day earlier, the mayor declared a state of emergency due to the widespread outages caused by Saturday's storms.
When severe weather hit the area Saturday, a tree took out powerlines, which led to a transformer blowing and putting a substation offline. Robinson said a critical piece of the system and a spare piece both broke.
"I'm devastated that we have a large swath of our town still without power," Robinson told WRAL News on Monday.
Tuesday marked the fourth day some Enfield residents woke up without power and electricity. On Tuesday morning, the town posted, "We anticipate that all power will be restored within the next six hours. In the meantime, residents are welcome to use the facilities at Inborden School, the public library, and the community space above the town offices."
People have gone days without air conditioning even as the heat index has been at least 100 degrees since the town went dark on Saturday. The closest weather station to Enfield is Rocky Mount. On Saturday, it was 97 degrees Fahrenheit in Rocky Mount and the heat index was 108. On Sunday, it was 93 degrees with a heat index of 103.
Robinson wrote that the storm has caused a disruption to the town’s electrical infrastructure, impacting the ability of residents and businesses to access essential services.
“This situation poses a risk to public safety and well-being, especially for vulnerable populations that rely on electricity for medical needs, heating, cooling and communication,” Robinson wrote.
The power could be restored as early as Tuesday afternoon.
Robinson on Monday asked for residents to refrain from overwhelming county and state partners with calls, writing, “This may delay the necessary resources to address our town’s concerns.”
Enfield's power grid is nearly 50 years old.
The mayor is calling on the federal and state governments to help Enfield rebuild its grid before the next storm hits.
"We’re trying to figure out, how do we make North Carolina understand that this problem is catastrophic for not just those who are on assistance, but the entire town lost food, and also other necessities," Robinson said.
Robinson said federal funding promised through the Biden administration isn't being dispersed. He said the funding would help update Enfield's infrastructure.
"We [found] out that this aging system that needs updating, and also, we need modern technology," Robinson said.
On Monday night, Enfield leaders met for their monthly meeting. During the meeting, Robinson Robinson said the problems could have lasting effects.
"You have problems like this that are exacerbated, exacerbated to the point that we could lose citizens. We have people texting and calling me about their medication, that needs to be in refrigerators and their electricity is still off," Robinson said.
The town said Sunday night that power was restored to all but one of its six circuits.
“We have formally requested assistance from state agencies and are actively coordinating efforts to complete repairs on the remaining circuit," the town wrote on its website.
However, some Enfield residents said on Monday said there are still people in the town without power. It included Joynel Whitaker.
"I'm looking ay my neighborhood here, she's on the CPAP machine. She sleeps with that machine," Whitaker said. "So, she had to get up and go to the motel last night.
Whitaker also spoke about others neighbor, who she said are older.
"She's disabled," Whitaker said of her neighbor. "She has medicine that’s supposed to be refrigerated and stuff, so she had to leave. This couple right here is retired, and they just coming back to town. Of course, they hooked up their generator ... I don't like us being in this circumstance at this time."
Whitaker said she hoped by Monday night the power and air conditioning would get restored.
"We're going to make it," Whitaker said. "It's coming together."
On Monday afternoon, Robinson went live on Facebook to provide an update to Enfield residents. He said to check his Facebook page or the check the town's website for updates.
"Those are the two places I would check," Robinson said.
Robinson said the town has been in contact with Gov. Josh Stein's office. The mayor said he's trying to get Stein to mark Enfield as a "disaster area."
"Disaster areas are different than being labeled [as a] state of emergency," Robinson said.
Robinson said he's also spoken with Halifax County Social Services.
"Please do not call the county with fraud," Robinson said.
Enfield also sent out a news release on Sunday stating it has had three separate incidents disrupting the town’s ability to provide electricity to residents.
The town said it is working closely with Dominion Energy to restore power as quickly as possible.
On Monday, WRAL News reached out to Dominion Energy with the following questions:
- What was the time and date of the initial outage reported?
- What was the length and duration of the power outages?
- When did restoration efforts begin?
- How many customers were impacted?
- When is full restoration expected?
- What caused the outages? Was it weather-related? Was there any damage to property?
Dominion Energy provided the following statement initially:
"For questions about power outages in the Town of Enfield, please contact the town," Dominion Energy wrote in an email to WRAL News. "Dominion Energy has been supporting the town of Enfield with their restoration efforts to the community.
"We remain ready to assist and support while the town finalizes its repairs."
Later on Monday evening, Dominion Energy provided an updated statement:
"Dominion Energy supplies power from our substation to a delivery point in the Town of Enfield," the statement reads. "Power is then drawn from that delivery point and distributed to the community.
"For questions about outages in the Town of Enfield, please contact the town.
"On Saturday afternoon, our substation detected faults in the flow of the electric current beyond our equipment and beyond our delivery point.
"To ensure safe delivery of electricity, we assisted the Town of Enfield as it made repairs to its equipment by gradually flowing power to the delivery point.
"We remain ready to assist and support while the town finalizes its repairs."
A shelter, cooling center and charging bank is still running at Enfield Middle School, and an OIC mobile medical clinic will be in town Tuesday to help residents who need it.