Blue Ridge Electric Power Restoration Efforts Nears Completion
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 (8 a.m., December 27, 2002) – With linemen working throughout Thursday night, outages caused by a Christmas Day wind storm are down to 291 in Watauga County and a mere two in Ashe County. All other outages in the Blue Ridge Electric service territory have been restored.
Linemen made headway in the evening and early morning hours; as of 11 p.m. Thursday, outages were at 1,000 in Watauga and fewer than 20 in Ashe County. Outages were restored in Alleghany County earlier in the day. By 6 a.m., the number was down to around 600.
All Blue Ridge linemen and 46 contractors, as well as Blue Ridge customer service staff and dispatchers, have been working around the clock since Christmas Day to restore power to some 10,000 members whose electricity was knocked out by wind gusts of over 70 miles-per-hour. The wind storm turned over large trees and damaged poles and lines in hundreds of different locations across the Blue Ridge service territory.
Blue Ridge Electric appreciates the patience of members as crews work diligently to restore all power to members and customer service staff work to answer calls from thousands of members calling in to report outages and downed lines.
The cooperative reminds members that power lines lying on the ground or other structure, or that appear damaged, can still be energized and therefore dangerous—even deadly—if contact is made with the line. The public should keep away from downed or hanging power lines, and should also keep away from any structure the line may be touching. Never drive a vehicle over downed power lines as well. Blue Ridge Electric asks that the public contact the cooperative immediately if a downed power line is spotted, and try to keep others away from the affected area if at all possible.
The fastest way to report an outage 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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