Electric Co-ops Report 114,000 Outages

RALEIGH, N.C. (Sept. 18, 2018, 5:30 a.m.) – North Carolina’s electric cooperatives are making outage restoration progress despite challenging conditions.

Outages and restoration:
Cooperatives are reporting approximately 114,000 power outages as of 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, mainly in coastal and southeastern North Carolina. About 212,000 outages have been repaired since an all-time outage peak of 326,000 on Saturday. Cooperative crews from less-impacted areas of North Carolina are caravanning east to support growing restoration teams, which already include crews from the local cooperatives, as well as contractors and out-of-state electric cooperative restoration personnel.

In areas where restoration points are inaccessible due to flooding or damaged roadways, or where damage to power poles and power lines is severe, the restoration effort may last several more days. Work will continue until powered is restored to all.

Real-time outage numbers and locations for co-ops throughout North Carolina are available online.

Crews from Hillsborough-based co-op Piedmont Electric sending off to Newport, where Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative is located and crews are still working to restore outages to thousands in the coastal region.

Safety:

  • Help keep our crews safe. If you see utility crews working on the side of the road, slow down and drive carefully.
  • Never wade into, or drive through flood water.
  • Only use generators and charcoal grills in well-ventilated areas; a garage does not count as a well-ventilated area.
  • Never connect a generator directly to a home’s wiring. Instead, use an extension cord to plug lights and appliances into the generator.
  • Never touch a downed power line, and remember that sometimes debris can cover fallen lines, making them difficult to spot.

Thank you to our members:
We thank cooperative members for their patience and many kind words as crews and co-op staff have worked tirelessly and diligently to rebuild after the storm and historic flooding. Restoring power quickly and safely is the electric cooperatives’ priority. We will continue working to bring the lights back on for all members.

About North Carolina’s electric cooperatives:
North Carolina’s 26 electric cooperatives collectively serve approximately 2.5 million people in 93 of the state’s 100 counties. Six electric cooperatives serve 16 North Carolina beaches, and many more serve hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in other parts of eastern North Carolina.

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