Blue Ridge Electric Outage Update

Outage Update

Last night’s severe storms left more than 35,000 Blue Ridge members without power. In Oconee County there are seven substations without power due to four broken poles on the high-voltage transmission lines.  They are Coneross, Friendship, Oakway, Fairplay, Townville, Golden Corner and Port Bass.  President and CEO Jim Lovinggood addressed restoration efforts, “We have been working on the problem, but it will take time.  These are metal transmission poles ranging from 105’ to 120’ that will have to be replaced before any other restoration efforts can be made.  Regardless of how hard we work, it will be after midnight before the work can be finished and other problems addressed.”

Blue Ridge crews will be working and we ask that you DO NOT APPROACH THEM.  Due to the COVID-19 virus we continue to be concerned with their safety.

Please know that all available personnel are working.  However, you do not need to call to report your outage today, because until the transmission lines are repaired, power to individual homes will not be restored.  We appreciate your patience.

As of 5:50 p.m. today, Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative had 16,902 members without power.

Since noon today, power has been restored to another 7,600 locations.  Thus far, crews have encountered more than 40 broken poles.  The bulk of the remaining outages are situated in a large cluster in Oconee County, where a damaged transmission line near Seneca has interrupted service to seven Blue Ridge substations.  Four steel poles in the transmission line sustained damage.  Replacing those poles will be a long and laborious one, and it could take until sometime on Tuesday for this work to be completed and for the transmission line and substations to be re-energized.  Blue Ridge crews will be working through the night on a number of fronts to continue restoring service.

To report an outage: 1-888-BLUERIDGE