Blue Ridge’s last report Wednesday

“As of 5:30 Wednesday afternoon, Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative had 11,998 members without electric service. Essentially all of the affected members are located in Anderson and Oconee counties. These members receive their power through seven substations that are fed by a transmission line. The tornado that visited the area early Monday morning scored a direct hit on a section of that transmission line. The high winds heavily damaged four steel transmission poles, and repair work has been ongoing for about 2½ days now. New poles have now been set to replace the damaged ones, and the best estimate is that the transmission line will be re-energized somewhere around 7:00 to 8:00 o’clock this evening.

Once the transmission facilities are back in service, crews will begin re-energizing the substations, one distribution circuit at a time. That process is expected to take about an hour. At that point, line crews will begin riding out each circuit in an effort to locate places where the distribution facilities may have sustained damage. Much of this work has already been accomplished, as 300 linemen have been inspecting the distribution lines and making repairs when they discover damaged areas. The restoration of power across the seven-substation system should provide a good indication of how much repair work remains to be done.”