Author: Chuanyi Ji, Associate Professor of Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Hurricane Helene left more than 3 million homes and businesses in the dark across Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas after hitting Florida’s Big Bend region as a powerful Category 4 storm late on Sept. 26, 2024. As Helene’s rains moved inland, officials warned that fixing downed utility lines and restoring power would take several days in some areas. Electricity is essential to just about everyone – rich and poor, old and young. Yet, when severe storms strike, socioeconomically disadvantaged communities often wait longest to recover. That isn’t just a perception. We analyzed data from over 15 million consumers in 588…