Duke awards Newberry County $10,000 grant

NEWBERRY COUNTY — Newberry County was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from Duke Energy to implement a program that will procure weather alert radios and host an event to distribute them to local, low-income households.

Tommy Long, emergency manager for Newberry County, said the weather radios will probably be distributed in the Whitmire area, as they are served by Duke Energy.

“There is an ongoing problem up there with storms, we thought that would be a good place to get those out,” he said.

According to a press release from Duke Energy, this grant is part of Duke Energy’s initiative to help first responders and emergency managers as they turn their eyes to the tropics as they continue to prepare their communities for the possibility of impacts from severe weather. In fact, Duke Energy gave out $500,000 in grants across the state, to 34 nonprofits and government agencies.

“The key to successful emergency preparedness and recovery after a major storm begins and ends at the local level,” said Mike Callahan, Duke Energy’s South Carolina state president. “Households and businesses across the state in recent years have endured a number of significant and costly storms. Helping our communities prepare for and recover from these events takes significant resources and these grants will help give our fellow first responders the tools and training they need to tackle whatever Mother Nature throws our way.”

Duke Energy’s Emergency Preparedness and Storm Resiliency Grant Program was designed to help organizations with roles in emergency preparedness increase their resiliency to these events through advanced preparation, planning, equipment and training. The program was first announced in March at the annual gathering of the state’s emergency managers in Myrtle Beach, and grantees were notified of their successful requests for funding mid-May. Applicants could request funds up to $20,000. Nonprofits and governmental entities across all regions of the state were eligible to apply.