Blue Ridge Electric on Alert Status
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee R. Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, Phone: (828) 758-2383; Pager: 1-800-471-1323; E-mail: Renee Whitener
Lenoir, NC (September 11, 2001) — Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation is operating on alert status as a result of terrorism events that occurred today, although no problems are being reported with the delivery of power to the cooperative’s some 63,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany and Wilkes counties.
Blue Ridge Energies, the cooperative’s subsidiary providing propane, heating fuels, and commercial gasoline is also operating normally while monitoring current conditions.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to those affected by the recent tragedies,” said Doug Johnson, chief executive officer of Blue Ridge Electric.
As a distribution cooperative, Blue Ridge Electric—along with 26 other electric cooperatives in North Carolina—purchases and receives its power from North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation (NCEMC).
Chuck Terrill, CEO of NCEMC, said they have been in regular contact with their primary power suppliers, including Raleigh-based CP&L. All are in a state of heightened security. NCEMC owns 28 percent of Catawba Nuclear Plant in York, SC. The Catawba plant is managed by Duke Energy.
"On behalf of the 2,500 employees of North Carolina's electric cooperatives, we express our deepest compassion to the victims and families of these tragedies, and our thoughts and prayers are with the emergency and rescue personnel involved in response and recovery," Terrill said.
Blue Ridge Electric and other cooperatives in North Carolina will continue to monitor facilities closely.
