N.C. Electric Cooperatives' Report 200,000 Outages At First Morning Light

-- Electric cooperatives reporting 200,000 outages as of 7 a.m. Sunday.

-- Affected co-ops are joined by western North Carolina and out-of-state crews to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.

-- Some road shoulders are saturated or inaccessible; crews may need to have vehicles and equipment on the road. Please be vigilant of these work areas.

News provided by

North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives

Oct 09, 2016, 07:42 ET

RALEIGH, N.C., Oct. 9, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Restocked, refueled and ready to go, electric cooperative restoration crews rolled out in force early Sunday morning, set to navigate flooded roads and treacherous conditions to restore power to more than 200,000 electric cooperative members.

Outages are widespread in areas from central North Carolina, to our southern and eastern communities and out to the coast. Each of North Carolina's 26 electric cooperatives is locally owned and operated, and because they are based in the communities they serve, the affected co-ops are in place to assess the situation, navigate the dangerous, damaged areas and continue repairs. The impacted electric cooperatives are joined by support crews from co-ops in western North Carolina, as well as Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Together, these crews will work as quickly and safely as possible to restore power to all cooperative members, an effort that is expected to extend for several days or more.

Electric cooperative members and all North Carolinians are asked to be especially vigilant of work areas. Please do not go out on the roads today unless absolutely necessary. Road shoulders are saturated or inaccessible, which means crews will have to set up their trucks and equipment on the road in some locations. Help us keep our linemen safe.

Cooperative members are thanked for their patience, and are reminded to only use generators and charcoal grills in well-ventilated areas; a garage does not count as a well-ventilated area. Never touch a downed power line, and remember that sometimes debris can cover fallen lines, making them difficult to spot.

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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SOURCE North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives