Last Updated on April 2, 2023 10:54 am
Lenoir, North Carolina (10:45 A.M. – April 2, 2023) – Blue Ridge Energy line technicians are continuing to restore power after more than 7,400 members lost electricity due to yesterday’s severe windstorm that brought down trees and damaged power lines across the cooperative’s entire service area.
Line crews worked through the night in harsh conditions, sawing their way into many locations across the cooperative’s service territory. Tremendous progress has been made to restore power with only a few members remaining without electricity as of Sunday morning.
In Ashe County where damage was the most extensive with downed trees and lines in 70 different areas, 2,809 members lost power beginning at 5:28 a.m. Saturday morning. As of 9:30 a.m. Sunday, crews continue repair work to restore power to the remaining 18 members still without power.
In Alleghany County, 22 locations were damaged causing outages for 1,339 members. Line crews are working to restore power to the remaining 3 members.
Also, hard hit was Watauga County which had damage in 34 different locations across the county that impacted 1,255 members starting at 9:05 a.m. Saturday. Full Watauga power restoration was complete by 5:52 am on Sunday.
In Caldwell County, 43 areas received damage that affected 2,085 members beginning at 12:39 p.m. Saturday. Line technicians are continuing work to restore power to the remaining four members without electricity.
Blue Ridge Energy reminds members to report all outages by calling PowerLine at 1-800-448-2383, by using the Blue Ridge Energy mobile app, or, if signed up for outage texting members can report outages by text (for more information on outage texting, visit: www.blueridgeenergy.com/resources/electric-outage-texting). Outage updates are available on the cooperative’s live outage map at www.BlueRidgeEnergy.com and on the mobile app.
If you or someone you know depends on medical equipment powered by electricity, always have a secondary plan in case of outages in the event system damage requires extended time to repair and restore power.
Blue Ridge Energy serves some 79,000 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, Twitter and Instagram.
