EMCs Make Great Strides Following Tropical Storm Zeta

TUCKER, Ga. – Today, Georgia’s electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) have restored power to 160,000 customers in metro Atlanta, north and west Georgia. Following tropical storm-force winds which battered the state this morning, EMCs reported a high of 400,000 outages.

Hundreds of line workers—including crews from elsewhere in Georgia as well as Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee—are repairing lines and poles as quickly and safely as possible, but the process is arduous and will take time. Many areas must be cleared of trees and debris before line crews can reach an area to begin repairs.

Throughout the day, Georgia Transmission Corp. crews and EMC crews continued work on both high voltage transmission and distribution systems in some of the most heavily damaged parts of the state. Remote locations, widespread outages and hundreds of downed trees, power lines and power poles have proven especially difficult.

Despite the progress made today and additional efforts tonight, due to the magnitude of destruction, complete restoration may extend into tomorrow. For specific guidance and updated information on local efforts, EMC members should check their local EMC website or follow developments on their EMC’s social media pages.

Note to media: Updated outage information can be found on Georgia EMC’s website at www.georgiaemc.com/outages.

Georgia EMC is the statewide trade association representing the state’s 41 EMCs, Oglethorpe Power Corp., Georgia Transmission Corp. and Georgia System Operations Corp. Collectively, Georgia’s customer-owned EMCs provide electricity and related services to 4.4 million people, nearly half of Georgia’s population, across 73 percent of the state’s land area. To learn more, visit www.georgiaemc.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Georgia Transmission Corporation plans, builds and maintains more than 3,100 miles of high-voltage powerlines and 650 substations that deliver electric power to 38 electric membership corporations (EMCs) across the state. Georgia Transmission and our member EMCs are not-for-profit cooperatives that serve approximately 4.1 million people in nearly 70 percent of the state’s land area. See www.gatrans.com.

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