Power Restoration Complete: Saturday 6 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 2, 2008) – As of 6 p.m. Saturday, power is fully restored to members of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation after Friday’s icy weather led to power outages.

The ice caused downed power lines and other system damage at more than 200 different locations on the cooperative’s electricity delivery system that includes more than 7,500 miles of line across northwest North Carolina.

At the height of the outage, more than 4,000 members were affected.

Blue Ridge line technicians and visiting crews worked throughout the night and into Saturday to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. Assisting Blue Ridge Electric were crews from Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation, Energy United, Surry Yadkin Electric Membership Corporation and Shaw Energy Delivery Services Inc.

Blue Ridge Electric reminds members to always report outages. The cooperative is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the fastest way to report an outage is by calling the cooperative’s Powerline at 1-800-448-2383.

Members can also view a new feature on the cooperative’s web site at any time to see if outages are occurring. By visiting www.BlueRidgeEMC.com and clicking on “Outage Map” on the left hand side of the screen, members can 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.