Last Updated on October 3, 2024 6:18 pm
Lenoir, North Carolina (Thursday, 5:30 pm – October 3, 2024) – An army of over 500 line technician crews, along with tree and grading contractors, are working 24/7 restoring power to Blue Ridge Energy members after Hurricane Helene left behind historic damage to western North Carolina.
“Over 80 percent of our 8,500 miles of line, power poles and substations were destroyed or severely damaged—it’s a herculean effort to rebuild a system that originally took years to construct, said Renee Walker, director of public relations.
Crews are working to restore the remaining 20,309 members without power as of 5:30 pm Thursday.
General estimated restoration dates are provided at www.BlueRidgeEnergy.com. These are broad community descriptions and include other nearby areas. Restoration efforts underway are for ALL members in EVERY area who remains without power. Crews will not stop until all power is restored.
Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson released a video update to members today and can be found on the cooperative’s website or at: https://youtu.be/qa79fL4dAZ0.
“We are working very hard to restore power to your home and businesses,” said Johnson. “We care about you and we will not stop until every single member has their lights come back on. To help us achieve this goal, we’ve brought in significant resources from all across the state, states around us and up and down the east coast.
“I ask for continued thoughts for the people who are working in the field in very difficult conditions and for the people who are working in the office answering the phones, preparing food and all the many, many things that it takes to oversee an effort of this magnitude” Johnson continued. On a normal day, we would have 50 linemen in the field. Today we have over 500. We’re not going to stop until your power is restored,” Johnson said.
Blue Ridge Energy serves some 80,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, and Alleghany counties as well as parts of Avery, Alexander and Wilkes counties. Learn more at www.BlueRidgeEnergy.com or on the cooperative’s social media on Facebook, X and Instagram.
