1/9 5:15 PM
My fellow members,
Good news to report. In comparison to Hurricane Idalia, all substations have power and all circuits are closed and providing power to the main lines. Our methods for restoring power are to make sure the substations have power and circuits are closed. Once this is ensured, we are then able to restore power downstream to the main feeder and tap lines.
At the height of the storm, we had roughly 24,000 meters without power. As of this update, we have roughly 10,600 meters without power. We have been working since early this afternoon, and I am proud of the work that have been done so far.
We appreciate your support and your prayers as we work to restore power to all Colquitt EMC members. We are giving our best effort to restore service as soon as possible, and we are greatly appreciative of your patience. We will provide another update first thing tomorrow morning.
Sincerely,
Danny Nichols
President/CEO
1/9 1:45 PM
My fellow members,
As of this update, the storm has passed through our area, and we have received significant damage throughout the entire system. The majority of the damage was caused by excessive winds with gusts in excess of 50 MPH.
Having recently experienced Hurricane Idalia, we have many plans set in place to assist with restoration. In addition to Colquitt EMC's 100 in-house construction, service and right-of-way personnel, we are bringing in an additional 110 contract personnel to aid in outage restoration.
The damage seems to be spread proportionally throughout our system in all three districts. Work to restore power has already commenced, and we will continue to work until power is restored to all members.
We ask that members do not approach or attempt to move any downed power lines. If you see a downed power line, please report it and let our crews handle it. For more information on how to stay safe during a power outage, please check out the infographic linked below from ready.gov
https://www.ready.gov/.../power-outage_information-sheet.pdf
Sincerely,
Danny Nichols
President/CEO
1/9 8:45 AM
My fellow members,
At Colquitt EMC, it is normal practice to pay close attention to the weather. With this storm that is approaching us from the west, we are concerned with high winds with possible hail and tornadic activity. We ask that all members pay close attention to your local weather and news outlets as the storm approaches our area this morning.
Rest assured that all steps have been made to fully prepare our EMC for widespread damage. We are hopeful that this storm will have a lesser impact than what is predicted, but we are prepared to work until service is fully restored to all members in the event of an outage.
Sincerely,
Danny Nichols
President/CEO