Line Technicians Working to Restore Power: 362 Members Without Power in Alleghany County as of 6 AM

Lenoir, North Carolina (February 6, 2010, 6 a.m. Update) - Line technicians with Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation are working primarily in Alleghany County this morning where the majority of problems from additional snowfall last night are affecting a total of 461 cooperative members without power this morning.

While heavy, wet snow that fell last night presented problems with trees falling on power lines, icing was not a major issue and therefore helped reduce the number of outages that could have been seen. Grounds saturated with rain and other precipitation the last few weeks also contributed to falling trees.

Currently experiencing power outages are 362 members in Alleghany County, 96 in Wilkes County and three in Caldwell County.

Blue Ridge crews are already working this morning along with additional crews from sister cooperative Randolph Electric Membership Corporation. Full power restoration is expected today.

Blue Ridge Electric members should report outages by calling the cooperative's Powerline at 1-800-448-2383. To view a live outage map, visit www.BlueRidgeEMC.com and click on the "outage map" link located on the bottom right hand side of the screen.

As a safety reminder, downed power lines could still be energized and therefore dangerous or even deadly. If members see a downed power line, report it immediately to the cooperative and stay far away from the downed line.

More safety and preparation information is available on the web site. 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.