Blue Ridge Electric Linemen Restoring Outages: 11:30 a.m. Update
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Public Relations, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383, Ext. 3213; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
Lenoir, North Carolina (February 1, 2008) – Ice on power lines and falling trees are leading to power outages affecting more than 3,600 members of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation.
Crews began working last night to restore what originally began as scattered outages across the cooperative’s service area. Additional crews have been called in to assist Blue Ridge linemen in faster power restoration.
However, due to high wind advisories and the fact that problems such as fallen limbs and downed power lines have occurred in roughly 200 different locations on the cooperative’s system, Blue Ridge Electric officials are predicting that complete power restoration may not be possible until Saturday.
Blue Ridge Electric urges members who are on life support or need emergency assistance and are affected by today’s power outage to coordinate with family members or local emergency management officials to make plans for accommodations tonight in the event full power restoration is not possible today.
A breakdown of the outages and locations as of 11:30 a.m. Friday are as follows: Watauga County: 2,000 members; Ashe County: 932 members; Alleghany County: 654 members; and Caldwell County: 30 members. Members living in Wilkes, Alexander and Avery counties are included in outage totals for the cooperative’s four primary service districts listed above.
Members are encouraged to report all outages by calling the cooperative’s Powerline at 1-800-448-2383.
Members can also view a new feature on the cooperative’s web site to see if outages are occurring. By visiting www.BlueRidgeEMC.com and clicking on the Outage Mapping link in the left margin of the home page, members will be able to see a map showing current outages in specific communities and counties as well as the number of outages affecting that area and the amount of time the power has been disrupted. Members can also fine safety and outage preparation tips on the cooperative’s web site by clicking on the News tab, and then the Storm Room tab.
Blue Ridge Electric is a member-owned cooperative utility serving more than 70,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Wilkes, Avery, and Alexander counties.
