Blue Ridge Electric on High Alert

Lenoir, North Carolina (January 21, 2010) – Employees with Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation are on high alert status should power outages occur as a result of ice accumulation in the cooperative’s service area in Watauga, Ashe and Alleghany counties.

Blue Ridge line technicians have been patrolling the area today, especially along the Blue Ridge Parkway where weather reports are predicting a possible ¼ inch of ice. This amount of ice accumulation can present problems for power lines or lead to falling trees and limbs.

In addition to their own crews, Blue Ridge Electric has more than 20 crews from across the state on standby, ready to provide assistance if power outages begin occurring.

If outages occur, members should report them by calling the cooperative's Powerline at 1-800-448-2383. To view outage updates, visit www.BlueRidgeEMC.com and click on the "outage map" link located on the lower left hand side of the screen.

As a safety reminder, downed power lines can still be energized and therefore dangerous or even deadly! The cooperative reminds members to stay far away from downed power lines and to report them immediately to Blue Ridge Electric.

Members can view outage updates at any time by visiting www.BlueRidgeEMC.com and clicking on the outage map link. Safety and preparation information is also available on the web site as well as 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.