Haywood EMC continues restoration efforts in hardest-hit areas
Waynesville, N.C. (Oct. 4, 2024; 8:30 a.m.) – Power has been restored for more than 20,000 of Haywood EMC’s members as crews continue to battle challenging conditions in their efforts to repair and rebuild electric infrastructure across the cooperative’s service territory.
As of 8:30 a.m. Friday, 5,200 Haywood EMC members are without power. At this time, Haywood EMC is hopeful to restore power to accessible areas by the evening of Monday, Oct. 7th. Crews will continue to work to restore power to the areas that are currently unreachable as bridges and roadways are made passable. For members in these areas, these are long-duration outages expected to last more than a week.
Haywood EMC is not alone in taking on the massive effort of restoring power to its members. More than 70 co-op lineworkers from three states and 40 others, including tree trimmers, road graders and operations specialists have joined Haywood EMC crews in the field as part of the restoration effort.
Please know that every cooperative member who is still without power is a priority for Haywood EMC. Crews remain committed to restoring power to every member following this catastrophic event.
While our crews are working to restore power, you can help by staying vigilant around work areas. Please avoid traveling on the roads unless absolutely necessary. Keeping the roads clear will help first responders do their jobs and give restoration crews better access to impacted areas. Additionally, many road shoulders are saturated or inaccessible, meaning crews will need to set up trucks and equipment on the roads in some locations. Help us keep our lineworkers safe.
Safety:
- Help keep our crews safe. If you see utility crews working on the side of the road, slow down and drive carefully.
- Never wade into or drive through flood water.
- Only use generators and charcoal grills in well-ventilated areas; a garage does not count as a well-ventilated area.
- Never connect a portable generator directly to a home’s wiring. Instead, use an extension cord to plug lights and appliances into the generator.
- Never touch a downed power line, and remember that sometimes debris can cover fallen lines, making them difficult to spot.
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Haywood EMC is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative supplying electricity to over 29,100 member-owners in Buncombe, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Madison and Transylvania counties in NC as well as Oconee SC and Rabun GA. For more information, visit www.haywoodemc.com or the cooperative’s social media on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.