Blue Ridge Electric Linemen Restoring Outages: Monday 2:30 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 11, 2008) – As of 2:30 p.m., power restoration efforts are nearly complete to members of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation in Caldwell, Watauga, Wilkes and Alleghany counties after Sunday’s high winds led to electric system damage, which resulted in power outages.
If any members are without power and have not yet reported it to Blue Ridge Electric, members are encouraged to report an outage by calling the cooperative’s Powerline at 1-800-448-2383.
More than 7,000 members were affected by the wind storm at the height of the outage situation on Sunday evening. In Ashe County, where 228 members remain without power, linemen continue to work this afternoon to reach several remote locations in order to repair electric system damage and fully restore power.
Blue Ridge line technicians worked throughout the night and today to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.
Members can 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 Mapping” 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. 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.
