Jan 13. 5:35 PM UPDATE: We have around 150 linemen and contractors working to restore power to the remaining 685 members. Over 3,720 members have already been restored since yesterday's storms ripped through the northwest portion of our territory.
Jan 13. 2:30 UPDATE: Stay away from downed power lines: they are everywhere.
As you can see from these photos taken in Meriwether and Pike between Alvaton and Williamson, there are a lot of trees down and damaged electrical equipment. The storm's path is clearly marked by fallen limbs and uprooted trees.
Crews continue to clear roads, lines, and right-of-way, as well as replace damaged equipment. We are making progress, but unfortunately, this is a slow and lengthy process. #thankalineman
Jan 13. 10:00 AM UPDATE: Crews have been working around the clock to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. Looking at the outage map, you can clearly see the path of the tornado that touched down in Meriwether County and traveled through Pike into Spalding. Crews have reported at least 50-60 broken poles, trees on lines, and downed power lines everywhere. They have made tremendous progress throughout the night but approximately 725 locations are still without power.
A crew from Grady EMC joined restoration efforts last night and two more crews from Altamaha EMC and Oconee EMC are on the way. We also have additional contract crews from Mastec and Sumter Utilities coming to help but keep in mind that trees have to be cut and cleared before crews can even get trucks and equipment to the damaged areas to begin repairs. This takes time but we are hoping to have power fully restored within 24 hours. However, anyone with damage to their meter or service wire will need to have an electrician make repairs before we can safely restore power.
Thank you for your continued patience and please remember to STAY AWAY FROM DOWNED POWER LINES! Just because it is on the ground does NOT mean it is dead and even if it is, it can quickly become energized during the restoration process.
Jan 12. 9:30 PM UPDATE: Crews have restored power to roughly 2000 locations but the restoration process for the remaining 1449 will take a while. We are still assessing the damage but so far, in the areas of Alps Rd., Cannafax Rd. and Rocky Mount Rd., crews have found 7 broken poles, 30 broken cross-arms, tons of trees on lines and wire down all over the place. It takes an average of 3-4 hours for one crew to replace one broken pole.
We have called in some additional contract crews to help with restoration, and Harper's Tree Service is cutting paths for crews to get to damaged areas. We appreciate your patience and your prayers for everyone working to restore power and provide assistance in the wake of this tornado and massive storm system.
You can track live outages here: https://outage.southernriversenergy.com:82/
Jan 12. 6:00 PM UPDATE: We are working in full force to safely restore power and appreciate your patience as we work to get everyone back online. We currently have 32 separate outages affecting 4,200 members across Meriwether, Pike, Spalding and Lamar. Please keep in mind, that means there are 32 separate issues that need to be addressed. 404 members have been already restored and our linemen are working as safely and as quickly as possible.
You can track live outages here: https://outage.southernriversenergy.com:82/