6/17-6/18: Power Outage Update

9:15 p.m. - We are down to 137 meters without power after restoring power to some of the larger outages in northern Orange and Durham County. Crews will continue working until all power is restored. 6:30 p.m. - We are now down to 37 different outages affecting 572 meters. Crews will continue working until all power is restored. 4:00 p.m. - This is just a small glimpse into the type of damage we are dealing with following yesterday's storm. We have over 3,600 miles of line in our system and we are receiving countless reports of this type of damage. Many of these repairs require more than simply throwing a switch; it requires careful tree and debris cleanup and in some cases total line reconstruction. Rest assured we're doing everything within our ability to restore power quickly. We thank you for your patience and understanding. 3:00 p.m. - Our lineman and cooperative staff have been working tirelessly to address the 60+ individual outages, most of them in Durham and Orange counties. We understand that it's the heat of the day and many of you are without A/C but rest assured we are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore power. All of our linemen live and work in these communities and want to restore power to their family and neighbors as well. We also want to send a special thank you to Tri-County Electric Membership Corporation Four County Electric Membership Corporation, Pike Electric and Lee Electrical Construction, Inc. for assisting us with power restoration this weekend. Please send a prayer that we can send these guys home to their families safely, especially this Father's Day weekend. 11:30 a.m. - The large outage out of the Carrboro substation has been restored. We now have about 1,150 meters without power. 11:00 a.m. - Additional crews from Four County EMC are making their way to our area to assist with power restoration, this is in addition to Tri-County EMC, Lee and Pike Electric who have been assisting our crews. Due to the nature of damage from last night's storm, crews are working tirelessly to remove countless fallen trees and broken limbs as well as repair broken poles and fallen power lines. Please be patient as crews safely to remove debris and reconstruct power lines and other equipment today. 10:00 a.m. - We are now experiencing a large outage in the Carrboro area and about 2,500 meters without power. We have sent crews to asses damage in that area. [caption id="attachment_7120" align="alignnone" width="480"] A tree fell on a powerline near the Carrboro substation.[/caption] 9:00 a.m. - Line crews have been working around the clock to continue restoring power following last evening’s storm. We have around 1,500 meters out at this time and we continue to make good progress this morning. Additional crews from Tri-County EMC, Pike and Lee Electric are assisting us with the remaining outages in our service territory. 10:00 p.m. - The damage from this evening's storm is extensive including fallen trees, broken poles, cross arms and downed power lines. While we made good progress in restoring power to some areas we still have around 2,500 members without power. Repairs will continue through tomorrow.

For the safety of our crews, repairs will slow overnight as sundown makes it more difficult to navigate but we will continue working through tomorrow until everyone's power is restored. We apologize for the inconvenience and we thank you for your patience and understanding.

8:00 p.m. - At this time, Piedmont Electric has a total of 76 different outages affecting approximately 3,800 members. When we experience widespread outages like this, our main priority is to make repairs that will return power to the largest number of people first. We then continue that restoration process, prioritizing repairs to benefit the greatest number of customers, until power is returned to everyone. Please be patient as our crews continue to assess damage and restore power safely to all.

7:00 p.m. - Due to the high volume of calls you may get a busy tone when calling our 800 number to report an outage. If so, please call back in a few minutes or report your outage online through SmartHub or through our text outage program if you are registered.

6:00 p.m. - Piedmont Electric is currently experiencing widespread outages due to this evening's storm. We have crews being dispatched and will keep you updated on our restoration progress here. You can also check the outage map online: http://outageviewer.pemc.org:88/

If you are experiencing an outage, please report it through SmartHub or by calling 800.222.3107.