Raleigh, N.C. (Sept. 13, 2018, 4 p.m.) – Cooperative members are experiencing outages along the coast from Hurricane Florence. As of 4 p.m. on Thursday, about 11,000 cooperative members are without power. More than 7,000 of those are located in Carteret County, about 1,500 are located in Craven County, and about 1,000 are in Pamlico County.
The primary cause of these outages is high winds, which combined with soggy ground can bring down trees that pull down power lines.
Out of the 26 locally owned and operated N.C. electric cooperatives, six serve coastal communities, including 16 North Carolina beaches. Although Hurricane Florence’s effects are currently being felt at the coast, all cooperative members are urged to stay vigilant, stay tuned to local forecasts and advisories, and to be prepared for the possibility of prolonged outages that could last several days.
Crews are staged in cooperative communities throughout the state, and they are ready to begin restoring power as soon as conditions are safe to do so. Hundreds of reinforcement crews from across the southeast are in place to assist with repairs, as well as contract crews, and more are on the way.
Everyone is encouraged to stay far away from downed or sagging power lines, as well as anything that that downed lines are touching. Always assume that a powerline is energized and very dangerous. Report downed or damaged power lines to your cooperative.
Members are advised to keep cell phones charged as the storm approaches, and cooperative members should have their cooperative’s outage number handy.
The number and location of cooperative outages can be seen at this live outage map.
North Carolina’s 26 electric cooperatives collectively serve approximately 2.5 million people in 93 of the state’s 100 counties. For more information, visit ncelectriccooperatives.com.
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