Line Technicians Working Tonight To Restore Power in Hard Hit Alleghany County

Lenoir, North Carolina (February 6, 2010, 5 p.m. Update) - Battling falling trees and ice on power lines that have led to more outages today, line technicians with Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation are working to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.

Alleghany County has been hardest hit by the storm, where currently 294 members are without power. Blue Ridge crews are working throughout tonight with the goal of full power restoration by midnight although they warn that winds and falling trees could lead to additional outages and if this occurs, some may extend into Sunday morning.

Line technicians are also working in Wilkes County where 174 members are currently without power, as well as in Ashe and Watauga counties which have 37 and three outages, respectively. With power restoration nearly complete in Ashe and Watauga counties, Blue Ridge Electric asks members who are still without power in these two counties to report them to the cooperative.

To ensure power restoration as quickly as possible, Blue Ridge crews are working today and tonight with line crews from sister cooperative Randolph Electric Membership Corporation and Pike Corporation.

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 cooperative’s web site. Outage and other updates are 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.