Blue Ridge Electric Restores Power Outages, Calls in Extra Crews Due to Ice Storm
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383 ext. 3213; Pager:1-800-471-1323; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
Lenoir, North Carolina (Noon - February 16, 2003) – Linemen and technical personnel at Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation were on the scene at 6 a.m. this morning restoring power to some 50,000 members in Watauga, Ashe and Alleghany counties. The cooperative serves 65,000 consumers in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, and Alleghany counties and a portion of Wilkes and Alexander counties.
While an ice storm began moving through the area this morning, the exact cause of the outage is still under investigation.
Power was back on for the majority of those members by 7:15 a.m.—just over an hour—with about 12,000 members in Watauga County restored by mid-morning. As of 10:30 a.m., only 69 members in the Sherwood community of Watauga County remained without power as linemen on foot patrol worked to complete final power restoration efforts.
All Blue Ridge personnel have been on high alert status since Friday. As an added precaution to prepare for what may be one of the most severe ice storms to hit our area in years, Blue Ridge Electric has called in 58 contract crews to assist in potential power restoration efforts if needed. The crews will be stationed in key areas throughout the cooperative’s service area and will be on stand-by, ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice to any area in need on the Blue Ridge Electric system.
Currently, 24 Pike Electric crews are stationed in all four Blue Ridge district areas, 10 Carter Construction crews are stationed in the Caldwell district, with an additional four Davis Elliott crews in the Ashe district. Twenty linemen from sister cooperatives in the eastern part of the state are due in by this evening and will be stationed in Hickory, just outside Blue Ridge Electric’s service area that reaches to Lake Hickory in Caldwell County.
Additional customer service representatives are also on duty at Blue Ridge Electric assisting members. In Watauga County, a telephone line that was cut hampered some consumers in this area from contacting the cooperative. As an option, Blue Ridge Electric is accepting collect phone calls from members in Watauga who call the cooperative’s other district phone lines: (828) 754-9071, (336) 372-4646, or (336) 246-7138. Or, all members may contact Blue Ridge Electric’s automated outage reporting and account information line, Powerline, at 1-800-448-2383.
With weather forecasts predicting ice accumulations from Raleigh westward, power outages are a possibility if a significant amount of ice builds up on lines or trees. And while Blue Ridge Electric maintains a dedicated rights-of-way program that has helped reduce the amount of outages in recent years, situations such as very large falling trees or vehicle accidents coming into contact with power poles can interfere with power reliability.
If outages should occur, the power restoration plan of action is as follows:
Steps to Restoring Power
When a major outage occurs, Blue Ridge Electric’s goal is to restore power to as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time. Our power restoration plan calls for emergency centers such as hospitals to take priority for power restoration. Checkpoints and repairs are made in the following order:
1) First, transmission lines are checked and repaired if needed because these lines affect power to thousands of members.
2) Substations, which receive power from transmission lines, are checked and repaired next if damage is present here. Substations also serve thousands of members.
3) Main distribution lines, which serve groups of customers from the substation, are checked next if no problem is found at the first two checkpoints.
4) Tap lines, which serve smaller groups of customers from the distribution lines, are checked next.
5) Finally, lines to individual customers are checked.
Additionally, Blue Ridge Electric also reminds the public that downed power lines can be dangerous or even deadly. Always assume the line is energized and follow these steps if you encounter a downed power line:
(1) Keep away from the line and anything it touches.
(2) Send for help by calling your local Blue Ridge Electric office or 911.
(3) Stand guard, if possible, to keep others away from danger. Following these guidelines may save a life.
