Last Updated on October 31, 2014 3:51 pm
Employees of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation are prepared to respond and are on high alert for the winter weather advisory issued by the National Weather Service for parts of the cooperative’s service area through Saturday evening.
Members are advised to be prepared and keep the PowerLine outage reporting number handy: 1-800-448-2383.
At BlueRidgeEMC.com, members can find an online Storm Room under the News Tab complete with preparedness and safety tips, videos, and other resources such as the cooperative’s online outage map that shows any occurring outages with estimated restoral times.
To stay safe and comfortable in the event of an outage, the cooperative recommends being prepared with the following supplies in a central location that each member of the household can locate quickly:
Flashlights and fresh batteries
Radio with fresh batteries if needed for weather and news reports
Blankets, sleeping bags, quilts
Extra water for drinking and cooking
Nonperishable food items, along with disposable plates and utensils and a manual can opener
A grill with extra propane or charcoal and lighter fluid for cooking (not to be used for indoor heating purposes due to dangerous carbon monoxide fumes).
Battery operated clock
For babies, extra formula and diapers
Thermos to keep liquids warm
A non-cordless phone–it’s likely to operate even when power is out
First aid kit, including prescription medications
Emergency numbers such as Blue Ridge Electric's PowerLine, local emergency management, police and hospital
If someone in the home is dependent upon electric-powered life-sustaining equipment, it’s a good idea to have an emergency evacuation plan or a standby power generator in place.
Have electronic devices such as cell phones, laptops and tablets fully charged
For more information, visit www.BlueRidgeEMC.com. During widespread outages, the cooperative also provides information on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/blueridgeemc and Twitter: www.twitter.com/blueridgeemc.
Blue Ridge Electric serves some 74,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Wilkes, Avery and Alexander counties.
