A Blue Ridge supplier braces for another round of winter

Personnel at low state Santee Cooper, one of the suppliers for the Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, are preparing for the anticipated effects that forecast winter weather, including freezing rain, may have on customers in the next two or three days.  About two million South Carolinians depend on the state-owned electric and water utility as their power source, either directly or through the state’s electric cooperatives.  Terry Ballenger of Pickens is no meteorologist but, for Blue Ridge, he monitors the forecasts and other media reports statewide, and concludes that it looks like the Low State might get it worse than the Upstate.  At Greenville-Spartanburg, the frozen precipitation probability is 30 or 40% and little accumulation.  “I don’t think we are going to be looking at any major problems,” he said.  Ballenger also pointed out that while the Santee Cooper system is a Blue Ridge wholesale, most of Blue Ridge’s needs are tied to Duke Energy, and he’s confident that Duke will be in good shape.