North Georgia EMC continues efforts to restore electric service

Friday, July 6, 2012

The North Georgia EMC reported at 4 p.m. today that it continues work to restore electricity to its customers who lost power Thursday night as a result of storms that moved through the area.

NGEMC said, however, that 8,700 of its members are still without power and that some may not have their service restored until Sunday morning.

A majority of the outages are in Chattooga, Gordon and Floyd counties, NGEMC said in a release.

"The outages are widely scattered, and crews are working to restore power to small groups or individuals," Jeff Brown, vice president of operations and engineering, said. "This makes the restoration effort challenging and time intensive."

NGEMC said high temperatures have led it to encourage people to consider relocating temporarily until their power comes back on.

NGEMC said it is being assisted in the restoration by 14 crews from other utilities.

It also said those seeking to report outages should email outage@ngemc.com or call its offices to reach the 24-hour dispatch. Office phone numbers follow:

Dalton: 706-259-3394

Calhoun: 706-629-3160

Fort Oglethorpe: 706-866-2231

Trion: 706-734-7341

NGEMC serves 98,000 customers in parts of Catoosa, Chattooga, Floyd, Gordon, Murray, Walker and Whitfield counties.