Power Restoration Effort Nearly Complete

For Immediate Release

Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, Phone: (828) 758-2383; Pager: 1-800-471-1323; E-mail: Renee Whitener

Lenoir, North Carolina (March 22, 2001) – Linemen from Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, along with assisting crews from neighboring cooperatives and contractors, worked until 3 a.m. this morning to restore power to Watauga County and to all but 250 members in Ashe County as of 6 a.m. Restoration efforts in Ashe County were continuing at daybreak today.

Outages were caused by a spring snowstorm, with 8,000 members across both counties affected at the height of the outage situation. A total of 32 crews worked to restore power as quickly as possible, with outages beginning early yesterday morning. Blue Ridge was assisted by Rutherford EMC and Energy United as well as Pike Electric.

Blue Ridge Electric appreciates the patience and cooperation of its members during the outage, and expresses appreciation to other community partners such as the local emergency management centers.

While restoration efforts are nearly complete, the cooperative reminds members to always stay clear of downed power lines, which could be energized. To report an outage or a downed line, members may call the cooperative’s automated phone attendant called “PowerLine”, at 1-800-448-2383. Or, they may call their local Blue Ridge Electric office in: Watauga County: 246-8894; Caldwell County: 754-9071; Ashe County: 246-7138; and Alleghany County: 372-4646, and in Wilkes: 838-4655.