Wind Causes Outages In Blue Ridge Electric Service Area
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 (May 12, 2008) – Extreme high winds led to several scattered power outages this weekend and today for some members of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation.
The outages affecting several hundred members were scattered Sunday night in Ashe and Watauga counties, with a peak of 1,800 members out of power from 10 a.m. until approximately 11:30 p.m. in an area concentrated just outside of Hound Ears in Watauga County.
Linemen conducted power restoration efforts throughout late Sunday night and early Monday morning hours as high winds continued causing problems across the system, including Caldwell, Wilkes and Alleghany counties. Wet weather also caused the falling of several trees affected by last year’s drought, which led to damaged power lines.
As of noon, linemen had power restored to all but approximately 100 members.
Members can report outages by calling the cooperative’s automated Powerline at 1-800-448-2383, or by calling their local Blue Ridge Electric office. Members should have the account number, address, and telephone number of the affected location nearby in case it’s needed.
Members can also view a new feature on the cooperative’s web site to see if outages are occurring. By visiting www.BlueRidgeEMC.com, clicking on the News tab, and then the Storm Room tab, members will be able to see an Outage 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.
Blue Ridge Electric linemen will also be traveling to assist sister cooperative Haywood Electric Membership Corporation, who was also affected by this weekend’s high winds, in their power restoration efforts.
Blue Ridge Electric is a member-owned cooperative utility serving more than 73,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Wilkes, Avery, and Alexander counties.
