To report an outage, call
1-800-448-2383
Fern Causes Minimal Impact to Blue Ridge Energy Service Area: Focus Shifts to Windy Conditions
Unlike other areas of the country, Blue Ridge Energy’s service area weathered Storm Fern over the weekend, although windy conditions in the mountains are now being monitored.
“We’re thankful we had sleet throughout the storm, preventing what could have been a disastrous event,” said Renee Walker, director of public relations. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those to our west, in Tennessee and Mississippi, who experienced a devastating ice storm across their region as the storm remained colder, locally,” she said.
No direct storm-related outages occurred on the Blue Ridge Energy system, although a few members were without power for a short period of time due to a fallen tree on power lines. Linemen had power restored in under an hour.
Extreme cold weather is predicted this week for the Blue Ridge Energy service area, as well as high winds in the mountain districts, including Watauga, Ashe and Alleghany counties. Crews and staff remain on high alert, ready to respond should outages occur.
“We live in and serve an area that is very mountainous, rugged terrain with severe winter weather and therefore our crews are continuously preparing, ready to respond any time, night or day, if an outage occurs,” said Walker.
Helpful tips:
Outage reporting options
- • Call PowerLine: 1-800-448-2383
• Text OUT to 70216 (mobile number must be on the account)
• Use the Blue Ridge Energy mobile app
Stay away from downed power lines
- Downed power lines can be extremely dangerous and may still be energized. Never touch a downed line or anything in contact with it. Report downed lines immediately by calling Blue Ridge Energy at 1-800-451-5474 and also notify 911. Only trained line technicians should handle downed power lines.
Outage status
- View outages on the live outage map at Blue Ridge Energy.com or the Blue Ridge Energy mobile app.
Stay Updated
- Blue Ridge Energy shares storm and restoration updates on social media at www.facebook.com/blueridgeenergy, www.instagram.com/blueridgeenergy, and www.twitter.com/blueridgeemc. Note: Outages cannot be reported over social media; they must be submitted through the official reporting channels listed above to be entered in the cooperative’s outage management system.
Blue Ridge Electric serves approximately 80,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, and parts of Wilkes, Avery, and Alexander counties. Its propane and fuels subsidiary serves customers throughout the cooperative’s service area and in Burke, Catawba, and Grayson County, Virginia. Learn more at www.BlueRidgeEnergy.com.