Last Updated on December 9, 2017 3:43 pm
Lenoir, North Carolina (December 9, 2017 – 3 pm) – While line crews are restoring many outages, new outages are occurring from extremely heavy wet snow causing trees and large limbs to break, tearing down power lines and breaking poles in some locations.
As of 3 pm Saturday, nearly 1,700 members are without power. Caldwell County has taken the brunt of damage, with nearly 1,500 of those currently without power located here. Many are in southern Caldwell County but outages are spread across the county from damages to the power system. In other service areas, 91 are currently impacted in Wilkes County; 55 members in Watauga County; 28 in Alexander County; 15 members in Ashe County; and 11 in Avery County. Alleghany County currently has no outages.
Additional line technicians from sister cooperatives, as well as contractor crews, are assisting Blue Ridge Energy in power restoration efforts that will continue until all members are restored with power.
High winds are also predicted in the mountain service area tonight so crews will remain on high alert and on call through the weekend.
Downed power lines can be extremely dangerous, even deadly! The public is reminded to stay far away from downed lines and report them by calling the cooperative or 911.
To ensure all outages are recorded in the Blue Ridge Energy tracking system, it is very important for members to report outages using one of the following two options:
- Call PowerLine: 1-800-448-2383
- Use the Blue Ridge mobile app, available free in app stores
A live outage map is available on the mobile app and online at www.BlueRidgeEnergy.com.
Blue Ridge Energy posts updates on its social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Blue Ridge Electric serves some 75,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Wilkes, Avery and Alexander counties.
