Power Restoration Nearing Completion

Lenoir, North Carolina (February 11, 2010, 3:30 p.m. update) – Power restoration efforts by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation are nearly complete as of 3:30 p.m., with only 35 members remaining without power and full power restoration expected by evening.

As major outages are restored, remaining isolated outages are a possibility so the cooperative asks members who are still without power to call Powerline at 1-800-448-2383 to ensure full power restoration by this evening. Blue Ridge Electric linemen are assisted today by Lauren’s Electric Cooperative, Inc., of Laurens, South Carolina.

Line technicians have battled the effects of high winds and blizzard conditions since yesterday, restoring power in one location just to have other outages occur due to wind damage in more locations. A total of 112 different locations on the electric system were damaged during the wind storm. Extremely high winds blew trees and limbs into power lines and in many instances brought down power poles and lines.

Currently, 21 outages remain in Watauga County, 11 in Ashe County, one in Alleghany County, and one in Caldwell County. Check outage status at any time on the cooperative’s live outage map at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com (click on the link at the bottom, right hand side of the home page). Updates and information are also available on the cooperative's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/blueridgeemc.

The cooperative reminds members that downed power lines are a safety issue and should be avoided since they can still be energized and therefore dangerous or even deadly. To report a downed power line and its location, speak with a Blue Ridge representative at 1-800-451-5474.

Blue Ridge Electric serves some 73,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe and Alleghany counties, as well as portions of Wilkes, Avery and Alexander counties.