We understand how frustrating it can be not to have power back yet. Based on currently available information, we expect to restore services to over 95 percent of our membership by Monday, October 7. It is highly likely your power will be restored before then. Crews will continue to work throughout the weekend. We are not scaling down operations.

Today, we were in the field with James Burrell, a field design supervisor at Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, so he could give members just a glimpse at the problematic terrains crews are encountering across our five-county service territory to replace broken poles. We now know of over 800 broken poles in our system.

James was guiding a crew from Sumter Utilities in the Salem area. We serve the most rugged terrain in the state, which means access to many of these poles poses a unique challenge like the one in this video. There are poles that must be dug by hand, just like they were in 1940 when the cooperative was formed.

We have identified areas in portions of our territory where the damage is so extensive it will exceed that Monday, October 7, projection. This natural disaster has reinforced the principle that not all outages are created equally.

Please do not approach field personnel as they work. This creates an unsafe environment and only causes delays. If you see workers leave a site and your power isn’t on, it does not mean they are finished working on your line. Crews work outward from a substation until all the damage to your circuit is repaired. Then, they work on tap lines, transformers, and finally, individual service lines that bring power to your home. Keep in mind that crews sometimes need to return to a site after replenishing material or repairing an issue at a neighboring site affecting your service.

We remain grateful for your patience as we navigate through the worst natural disaster in the 84-year history of our cooperative. Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative will not rest until you and your families have power.

Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative

October 4, 2024