(Jefferson, Ga., February 10, 2014) With the National Weather Service winter storm warning in effect, Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) is following its Emergency Restoration Plan and is preparing its line crews, right of way crews and office staff in case severe winter weather disrupts electric service.

“We’ll be making sure our trucks are fully stocked, fueled and ready to roll,” said Jim Smith, vice president of engineering and operations. “All of our line crews and right of way crews will be on call and dispatched to any outages that may occur. Our Systems Control, the nerve center of our distribution network, will continue to monitor the cooperative’s more than 13,500 miles of energized wire as the storm progresses from Tuesday into Wednesday night to detect outages as they occur.”

In the event of an outage, Jackson EMC customers may report outages from their PC or mobile device at the cooperative’s website, www.jacksonemc.com, or by calling 1-855-422-7600, and can track outages on the cooperative’s website Storm Center outage map. Also located in the Storm Center is information on how to prepare for a storm, electrical safety after the storm and generator safety.

“During a major outage, our first priority is restoring the lines that will return service to the largest number of customers with each repair. This means our workers usually try to restore a main line before restoring power to individual customers. In the event of ice-related outages, we want our customers to know that we’re working as fast as possible to get the power back on as soon as possible,” explained Smith.

Ice storms frequently cause damage to individual homes, meter boxes and the spot where power enters the home, called the service entrance. When that occurs, an electrician must first repair the damage before power can be restored.

Jackson EMC warns all residents to avoid any downed power lines, and to assume that any power line is electrified, even if it doesn’t appear to be. If a line is down across a road or in any other location that poses an immediate hazard, 911 should be notified.