Last Updated on August 18, 2021 11:34 am
Lenoir, North Carolina – (August 18, 2021 6:30 am) – Battling numerous downed trees, flooding and debris since Tuesday evening that continues Wednesday morning, Blue Ridge Energy line technicians have worked throughout the night to restore power to cooperative members after remnants of Tropical Storm Fred impacted the area.
Over 9,000 Blue Ridge Energy members had loss of power due to the damaging storm that brought flooding, down trees and debris and damaged powerlines and poles. As of 6:30 am Tuesday, 713 members in Watauga, Ashe and Alleghany service areas remain without power as line technicians wait for receding waters and work to clear bridges and roads of debris and downed trees to reach remaining areas with damage to power lines and poles.
Watauga and Ashe counties were hardest hit by the storm. In Watauga’s service area, 5,709 members were impacted due to damage in 51 different locations on the cooperative’s system, with 329 members still awaiting restoration (5 of those in Avery County) as of 6:30 am Tuesday. In Ashe District, 2,581 members were impacted by damage to 42 different locations on the cooperative’s system, with 180 awaiting restoration this morning (10 of those in Wilkes County).
In other locations: Alleghany District had 16 locations of damage with 271 members impacted; 204 members are awaiting restoration Tuesday morning. In Caldwell District, 306 members had power loss due to damage in 15 different locations, with all power restored by 1:45 am Tuesday.
Members are also advised to stay far away from downed power lines as they can still be energized and dangerous, even deadly! Members are asked to report downed power lines and their location by calling any local Blue Ridge Energy district office to speak to a member services representative.
To report outages: call PowerLine at 1-800-448-2383, use the Blue Ridge Energy mobile app, text “OUT” to 70216 if signed up for outage texting, or on “MyAccount” at BlueRidgeEnergy.com.
Outage updates and other helpful information is available on the cooperative’s social media sites on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For safety tips and other information including views of the cooperative’s social media pages, please visit the website at www.BlueRidgeEnergy.com<http://www.BlueRidgeEnergy.com>. Outage status can be viewed at any time on the cooperative’s outage map available on BlueRidgeEnergy.com or the mobile app.
Blue Ridge Energy serves some 78,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Wilkes, Avery and Alexander counties.
