Power Restoration Work to Continue Into Saturday

Watauga County Suffers Major Damage

Lenoir, North Carolina (December 25, 2009--10 p.m. update) - Power restoration work for members of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation is continuing into Saturday due to major ice storm damage especially in Watauga County where fallen trees are blocking road access and ice pulling down power lines has caused a high number of outages.

As of 10 p.m., 12,000 members remain without power in Watauga County. Another 4,400 remain without power in Ashe County. In Alleghany County, power restoration is complete to all but 200 members while only five people remain without power in Caldwell County.

Road conditions are expected to deteriorate overnight and heavy fog is moving into the area. More than 250 line technicians and other technical personnel will continue power restoration efforts as work resumes early Saturday morning. However, some outages may continue throughout the weekend due to the extent of ice damage to the electrical system and tree clearing to access roads and outage locations. Restoration is also lengthy due to line crews needing to cut away and remove fallen trees on roads and other areas blocking access to outage locations.

Blue Ridge member services staff are also on hand to answer member calls. Members should report outages by calling the cooperative's automated Powerline at 1-800-448-2383. Call volume is heavy so the cooperative asks that members be patient when calling. Members can view outage updates at any time by visiting www.BlueRidgeEMC.com and clicking on the "outage map" link located on the lower left hand side of the screen.

Members with special medical or life support needs should contact their local emergency management office for assistance if needed, especially if living in Watauga or Ashe counties where electric system damage is more severe and restoration efforts will extend through the weekend. Watauga County Emergency Management has opened two shelters: Valle Crucis Conference Center and Deep Gap Volunteer Fire Department. For medical or other emergency situations, call 911.

The cooperative also reminds the public that downed power lines can still be energized and should be avoided to prevent an injury. Report downed power lines by calling Blue Ridge Electric at 1-800-451-5474.

Blue Ridge Electric line crews are being assisted by neighboring cooperatives EnergyUnited, Union Power, Pee Dee, Lumbee River, and Central EMC, as well as crews from Pike Corporation, Carter Utility Services and Asplundh Tree Expert Company.

Outage updates and other information is also available on Blue Ridge Electric's Facebook page. Blue Ridge Electric serves some 73,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Wilkes, Avery and Alexander counties.