A week after violent storms struck Northwest Georgia on April 27, North Georgia EMC has restored power to the entire service area. Many members who have had structure damage are in the process of making repairs or planning to rebuild or relocate.

The damage and destruction to the distribution system was extensive, requiring substantial man-hours to repair or replace costly material and equipment. While the damage in cost can be assessed and replaced, the lives that have been changed and the lessons that have been learned are immeasurable.

In the wake of the devastation and the massive power restoration efforts that followed, utility clean-up crews still remain, gathering damaged poles, transformers, meters and conductor. In the coming days, weeks and months, NGEMC personnel will work with members who are rebuilding homes.

Along with line crews and operations personnel, NGEMC has member service representatives in the area trying to reach people who have had homes damaged or destroyed. Stephanie Holder, Director of Member Services, said the objective is to supply people with information about temporary construction meters and to answer questions regarding service disconnects, new connections or service relocations.

In addition to NGEMC field personnel, storm-relief stations have been set up at NGEMC offices in Fort Oglethorpe and Dalton dedicated primarily to servicing the needs of those with extensive property damage, and to provide as much support as possible, according to Holder. ???

INFRASTUCTURE DAMAGE AND RESTORATION EFFORT RECAP

The April 27th record-setting storms leveled an estimated 4 million dollars in damage to North Georgia EMC’s distribution system. At the height of the event, almost 27,000 members lost electricity. Also lost were approximately 370 poles, 230 transformers, and 24 miles of conductor. "Only the Blizzard of 1993 can compare in the amount and degree of system destruction," said Ron Hutchins, NGEMC president and CEO.

Hutchins expressed his gratitude to county and city officials who helped coordinate emergency response and relief efforts. "Their prompt, efficient actions kept things running as smoothly as circumstances would allow and were also instrumental in providing a safe work area for our power restoration crews," Hutchins said.

More than 360 utility personnel were dedicated to the week-long restoration effort coordinated by North Georgia EMC. When the storm hit, outages were widespread across all seven counties. But as the sun rose on the second day, it was evident that Gordon, Floyd, and Catoosa counties had been the most severely hit, with Ringgold and areas nearby directly in the path of the EF-4 tornado.

EMC’s from across the state descended quickly to the aid of NGEMC employees and contract workers. Crews from Carroll EMC in Carrollton, Blue Ridge Mountain EMC in Young Harris, Grey Stone Power in Douglasville, Snapping Shoals EMC in Covington, and Tri State EMC in McCaysville, made the trip and stayed the duration.

"Without the hard work of our own crews and visiting crews, many of our members would still be in the dark. They worked quickly, expertly and safely…very, very impressive," said Jeff Brown, NGEMC’s vice-president of operations and engineering speaking of all the utility personnel who worked to restore power to devastated areas.

"We also want to thank the community, the churches, and the many volunteers who offered great support and provided meals to crews working the area," said Brown. "The crews were very appreciative and couldn’t say enough about the outpouring of help from people in the community and across the area." he said.

"The community as a whole has demonstrated great strength and courage," said Hutchins. "Our crews and personnel were touched by the numerous stories from survivors and those grieving of losses. And for those who are trying to regain their balance and some sense of normalcy, maybe having electricity again will help in some small way."

North Georgia EMC is a member-owned electric cooperative serving 99,000 members in portions of seven Northwest Georgia counties including Catoosa, Chattooga, Gordon, Floyd, Murray, Walker and Whitfield counties.