Blue Ridge Electric Restoring Power Caused
by High Winds
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383 ext. 3213; Pager:1-800-471-1323; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
Lenoir, North Carolina (11:00 a.m., December 26, 2002) -
Winds registering as high as 70 miles-per-hour caused outages affecting nearly 10,000 members of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation last evening. All Blue Ridge Electric linemen were called in just before noon Christmas Day and they remain on the scene today—along with 46 additional contract crews—to restore power to 4,085 members still without power Thursday morning as a result of unusually high winds causing damage to power lines and poles in hundreds of different locations across the Blue Ridge service territory.
Most of the remaining outages are expected to be restored today. Currently, 3,076 members in Watauga County are awaiting power restoration, while Ashe County has 789 members without power. Wilkes County and a portion of Alleghany County have 220 members without power.
The most severe outage occurred at approximate 11:45 AM Wednesday when a large tree was blown onto the trans-mission line feeding the Aho and Blowing Rock substations in Watauga County and broke a transmission line structure. Approximately 3,500 members are serviced by these two substations. The substations were restored with power by 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.
According to Robert Kent, director of operations, high winds are especially hard on power lines because it stresses the lines and poles in addition to causing trees and limbs to fall on the lines. “Wind will cause an outage that can affect just one member at a time or hundreds of members at a time. We are responding to each and everyone as fast as we can.” The number of members without power guides priority for restoration. Transmission lines and substations are the first priority, followed by distribution circuits with the most members affected.
Blue Ridge Electric appreciates the patience of members as crews work diligently to restore all power to members. Renee Whitener, spokesperson for Blue Ridge, reminds members to stay away from downed power lines. “Downed lines can still be energized and therefore dangerous, even deadly, if you come into contact with the line,” she said. “You should keep away from downed power lines and any structure the line may be touching. Additionally, you should never drive your vehicle over downed power lines. We ask that if you see downed power lines to contact the cooperative immediately and try to keep others away from the affected area if at all possible.”
Whitener added, “We are working as fast as we can to restore power to help our members enjoy warm homes and return to their holiday activities. If you experience an outage, the fastest way to report it is to contact the cooperative’s automated outage reporting system PowerLine, at 1-800-448-2383.”
Blue Ridge Electric serves some 64,000 consumers in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe and Alleghany counties, as well as portions of Wilkes and Alexander counties.
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