Blue Ridge Electric Preparing for Possible Impacts from Hanna

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 (September 10, 2008) –Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation is closely monitoring the path of Hanna as the cooperative prepares for possible local impacts from this and several other tropical storms that could have an effect on our area.

The main concern right now is power outages that could result if high winds occur and bring down brittle or dead trees onto power lines. Many trees in this area have been affected by the recent drought and although right-of-ways have been well trimmed and maintained, large, dying trees falling onto power lines have been more frequent due to the drought.

Line technicians, customer service staff and other employees are ready to respond at any hour of the day or night should outages occur. The cooperative encourages members to call the cooperative’s Power Line, at 1-800-448-2383, if an outage occurs.

Blue Ridge Electric also wants members to think safety and be prepared in the event of an outage by taking the following steps:

Make sure flashlights and lanterns are readily available.
Have a fresh supply of batteries on hand.
Have medicine, first aid supplies, and baby items close by. If prescription medicines are needed, be sure to have them refilled.
Keep at least two weeks supply of bottled water and non-perishable food items on hand. A manual can opener is also helpful.
Make sure to have identification and documentation on hand such as social security card, driver’s license, birth certificate, and insurance information.
Have an evacuation plan for yourself and your family in case of an extended power outage, flooding or other crisis situations. This is especially important if you or a family member depends upon life support.
Listen to local radio stations for weather forecasts and when outages occur, for outage updates reported to local media.

A Final Safety Note:

If power lines and poles are down in your yard or on roadways, always treat them as if they are energized and dangerous. Never touch a downed power line and stay far away from the downed line.
If you see a downed power line, call your local Blue Ridge Electric office immediately. Only a trained Blue Ridge Electric technician should remove the line.
Post-storm debris can hide power lines that have fallen. Fallen trees that contain energized power lines can electrocute any item it comes in contact with, such as a metal fence, a pond, standing water or even the ground.

For more safety and preparation tips, visit www.BlueRidgeEMC.com. Additionally, an outage map is available on the cooperative’s web site to check local outage and restoration status.

Blue Ridge Electric is a member owned electric cooperative serving some 72,000 members in the counties of Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Avery, Alexander and Wilkes counties.