MONROE, Ga. – Efforts continue this evening to restore electric service to 40,000 Walton Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) customer-owners affected today by tropical storm Irma.

Power outages began in earnest about 1 p.m. and affected all parts of the cooperative’s 10-county service area. Outage numbers climbed quickly as winds from Irma picked up in intensity. Line crews immediately went to work and continued throughout the storm, although at one point were prohibited from going up in bucket trucks because of higher winds.

Headway should accelerate tomorrow. “We’ll make better progress because the wind and rain will be gone, improving working conditions,” said Ron Marshall, vice president of engineering and operations. “In addition, 36 linemen from Four County EMC in North Carolina will arrive to assist us.”

All problems were caused by trees or limbs being blown into power lines by high winds.

This is a widespread outage event. Where a summer thunderstorm is short-lived and localized, Hurricane Irma affected all corners of Walton EMC territory for several hours. For that reason, some customer-owners will be without power for two to three more days.

Customers without power who have not yet reported it should contact Walton EMC via our mobile app, our website at waltonemc.com or by calling 770-267-2505. Using the Walton EMC website or mobile app is the quickest and most efficient way to report.

For tips on safety and coping with power outages as well as answers to frequently asked questions, view our guide here.

Remember to stay clear of any downed line, no matter what its location or appearance.

Walton EMC is a customer-owned electric utility that serves 127,000 accounts in 10 counties between Atlanta and Athens.

# # #