5/11/19
Habersham Electric lineman work to restore power in front of Chattahoochee Baptist Church east of Cleveland
(Cleveland)- Nicole Dover spokeswoman for Habersham Electric Membership Corporation advised in an email Saturday afternoon that the storm that hit the area around 7:30 AM Saturday morning left significant damage. Dover said, approximately 1100 HEMC meters are without power as of 1 p.m., that compares to over 4,500 shortly after the storm. HEMC crews have been working since the storms moved through and additional crews from Blue Ridge Mountain EMC, Hart EMC and Jackson EMC have been called in to assist with restoration efforts.
Dover provided this information about the challenges crews are facing include:
- Debris and trees blocking roadways.
- 9 broken poles, several of which are along one stretch of Duncan Bridge Road. Due to the type of poles and equipment on these specific poles, it will take approximately 8 hours to replace each once the debris is removed and crews can access the site.
- Transmission lines which deliver electricity to substations have been damaged, resulting in a loss of power to multiple substations. Separate crews are working to repair those as well.
According to Dover, this is a two-prong restoration effort. HEMC and assisting crews are working to repair damage to lines that carry electricity from the substations to members. Georgia Transmission Corporation, which operates the transmission lines, has restored service to all substations. However Dover said, due to ongoing work to repair broken transmission poles, some members will be without power until approximately 10 p.m. Saturday night. Some HEMC members, who are not affected by the transmission outages, will be restored earlier as repairs are completed.
HEMC wishes to thank our members for their patience and reminds everyone to avoid downed lines and treat all as if energized. Report outages and hazards by phone rather than through social media as it is not monitored 24/7.
