EMCs Continue to Rebuild Distribution Network

Crews are working 16- to 18-hour shifts in remote and isolated areas

TUCKER, Ga. -- Outage numbers continue to decrease for customers of Georgia’s electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) following devastation from Tropical Storm Zeta.

It took years to construct the electric transmission and distribution system in Georgia, but Tropical Storm Zeta destroyed much of it in under three hours. EMC crews, many working up to 18-hour shifts, are now working in some of the most hard-to-reach parts of their systems, removing hundreds of large trees from roadways and power lines, and replacing hundreds of broken poles and hundreds of miles of line on the ground.

As of 4:30 a.m., EMCs are reporting approximately 9,000 outages primarily in north and northeast Georgia, down from a statewide peak of 400,000 on Thursday.

The power recovery effort has been long and difficult in the aftermath of Zeta which produced wind gusts in excess of 70 mph. Crews are following a proven, methodical process for restoring power, but progress is moving slowly while rebuilding miles of power lines and replacing hundreds of power poles.

In addition, at this stage in the restoration process, each repair may provide service to a small pocket of customers—as few as 10 or 20, and sometimes just one or two members.

However, local crews along with crews from across Georgia, Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee will continue work throughout today and tonight with the goal of restoring service to the majority of remaining customers.

For specific information on local EMC efforts, members should visit their EMC’s web site or follow progress on their EMC’s social media pages.

Note to media: Outage information is available and updated every 15 minutes 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.