As of 4 p.m. Monday,  less than 200 North Georgia EMC customers remain without power. However, many of these customers are not able to reconnect due to extensive property damage or total destruction. Restoring the remainder of the outages will take time due to the severity of the damage and the scattered locations of the customers. For the most part, efforts are still concentrated along Highway 151 and in the Cherokee Valley Road areas of Catoosa County.

"Whole sections of line and circuits are being reconstructed in areas where many of the homes are not even serviceable," said NGEMC Vice President of Operations and Engineering, Jeff Brown. "In many of these situations a very small number of customers are fed by these lines. In some cases a whole section of line is built but only one or two people maybe reconnected. This is one of the reasons progress seems so slow and its part of what it means to be a rural electric cooperative," Brown said.

Once again, the public is asked to stay clear of areas where line trucks and utility vehicles are working. "Poles are being erected and power cable is being strung along roadways. Crews need a wide work area in order to finish these jobs safely," Brown said.

Along with line crews and operations personnel, North Georgia EMC has member service representatives in the area trying to reach people who have had homes damaged or destroyed. Stephanie Holder, Director of Member Services, says the objective is to supply people with information about temporary construction meters and to answer questions regarding service disconnects, new connections or service relocations. "Personnel are positioned at our Fort Oglethorpe and Dalton offices and are dedicated primarily to servicing the needs of those with extensive property damage, and to provide as much support as possible," Holder said.    

NGEMC officials ask that customers still without power in locations where neighboring homes or businesses have electricity, please call their local NGEMC office. Phone numbers are as follows:  

Dalton (706) 259-9441

Calhoun (706) 629-3160

Fort Oglethorpe (706) 866-2231

Trion (706) 734-7341

Restoration work will continue several more days due to the severity and extent of the damage. Crews will remain on duty until power has been restored. Outage updates and restoration progress will be posted frequently on NGEMC’s web site, www.ngemc.com as well as sent to area news media.  Patience is appreciated as crews work to restore electricity to all areas as quickly and safely as possible

 

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.