Blue Ridge Electric Linemen Restoring Outages: 4:30 p.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) – Line technicians will be working throughout the night and into Saturday to fully restore outages that began occurring today as a result of icy weather in Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation’s service area.
Members are encouraged to report all outages to the cooperative’s Powerline at 1-800-448-2383.
Wide spread damage to the electric system is leading Blue Ridge officials to predict restoration efforts will continue into Saturday.
As of 4:30 p.m., nearly 3,000 members were without power. Areas affected include: Ashe County: 1,059 members; Alleghany County: 1,032 members; Watauga County: 597 members; and Wilkes County: 224 members.
Additional crews assisting Blue Ridge Electric linemen arrived today from: Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation, Energy United, Surry Yadkin Electric Membership Corporation and Shaw Energy Delivery Services Inc.
Blue Ridge Electric urges members who are on life support or need emergency assistance to coordinate with family members or local emergency management officials to make plans for overnight accommodations.
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. Safety and outage preparation tips are also on the web site.
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.
