The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced an additional $36.6 million for Georgia on Friday. The funds are “to support disaster recovery in Georgia” stemming from Hurricane Helene.
Among the allocations is $971,000 for Excelsior EMC based in Metter, GA. Excelsior EMC serves portions of eight counties in southeast Georgia, including Bryan, Bulloch, Candler, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Jenkins, and Tattnall.
According to the press release issued July 10, 2026:
Most of this funding comes from FEMA’s Public Assistance program, which has already provided $1.5 billion to help Georgia recover and rebuild after Hurricane Helene. The Public Assistance program provides funds for state and local government response and recovery work at no less than a 75% federal cost share.
The recently approved recovery projects include:
- $25.5 million to The Medical Center, Inc. for emergency protective measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
- $2.7 million to University Health Services, Inc. for emergency protective measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
- $971,000 to Excelsior Electric Membership Corporation to repair the power distribution system damaged by Hurricane Helene.
- $441,000 to Chatham County for management costs.
- $131,500 to Appling Healthcare to repair or replace building exteriors damaged by Hurricane Helene.
Additionally, FEMA approved $6.7 million for Georgia’s disaster case management program, directly supporting individuals and households with complex needs following Hurricane Helene.
Hurricane Helene inflicted unprecedented financial damage on Georgia’s electric utility infrastructure, with utilities facing hundreds of millions of dollars in repair and rebuilding costs.
The storm destroyed or severely damaged thousands of utility assets across the state, including more than 11,800 power poles, over 1,500 miles of power lines, approximately 5,800 transformers, and numerous substations, requiring utilities to rebuild large portions of the electric grid rather than simply restore service.
Georgia Electric Membership Corporation reported catastrophic damage to the cooperative system as well, with more than 100 high-voltage transmission lines and over 60 substations knocked out, affecting dozens of local EMCs throughout South and Southeast Georgia.
Georgia Power alone has estimated approximately $800 million in storm-related restoration and infrastructure repair costs, with regulators later approving recovery of roughly $690 million of those costs through customer rates, while electric membership cooperatives and transmission providers also absorbed substantial restoration expenses through emergency repairs, mutual aid deployments, equipment replacement, and system hardening investments.
Collectively, Hurricane Helene left Georgia’s electric utilities facing one of the costliest infrastructure recovery efforts in state history, with financial impacts extending well beyond immediate restoration.
