As of 5:30 p.m., REC had restored service to 65% of member-owners who lost power during Wednesday’s winter storm. To speed up the restoration process, REC has increased its work force in the field, bringing in 32 mutual aid crews totaling over 50 line workers from neighboring electric cooperatives and contractors.
At the peak of the storm, more than 21,000 members were without service. About 7,400 remain without power this evening. REC crews will continue to operate in full force with mutual aid assistance to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.
By late tonight, REC expects to have the majority of outages restored in Hanover, Caroline, Louisa and the southeast portion of Orange counties. Remaining outages, mostly in Culpeper, northwest Spotsylvania, Orange, Greene, Madison, Rappahannock and Fauquier, counties should be restored by late Friday.
In addition to the sleet, ice, and heavy wet snow during the storm yesterday, today crews have faced challenging work conditions accessing damaged equipment in some remote areas of the service territory. Crews also continues continue to follow the health and safety social distancing guidelines to protect against the spread of Covid-19.
Among the cooperatives providing mutual aid are Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative, Prince George Electric Cooperative, Northern Neck Electric Cooperative, Choptank Electric Cooperative and BARC Electric Cooperative.
"REC continues to deploy all available resources and is grateful for the assistance from neighboring electric co-ops,” said Casey Hollins, director of communications and public relations. “We appreciate the patience of our member-owners as the crews continue to work around the clock to restore all service."
REC reminds member-owners to keep safety top of mind.
When used safely, generators can be a great resource during an outage. Remember to connect appliances or other devices directly to the generator with the appropriate-sized cords. If you connect it directly to your building’s wiring, a transfer, double-throw switch is required to separate your generator from the co-op’s system.
Also, if you see a downed power line, always assume it is energized and dangerous. Stay at least 10 feet away from the line and anything that might be in contact with it. Contact REC at 800-552-3904 or call 911. Finally, if you haven’t already, unplug appliances that may have been on when the power outage begin. Those appliance will come back on in the same mode as they were when power was lost.