Central Electric Responding To Initial Blow From Hurricane Florence
Sanford, N.C. (Sept. 14, 2018) – Central Electric crews are continuing to respond to outages that are occurring due to strong wind gusts throughout our area caused by Hurricane Florence. Crews will respond to outages throughout the day as long as conditions permit. Should conditions further deteriorate in our area, crews will respond to outages as soon as the conditions are safe to do so.
As of 6:00 p.m. on Friday evening, Central Electric is reporting 5,069 members without power spread across Chatham, Harnett, Lee and Moore counties.
In the event of a power outage, safety is a top concern for utility workers and members of the community. If you plan to use a generator during a power outage, make sure it is operated outside in a
well ventilated area and never connect it directly to your home’s wiring or power lines. This could create a dangerous situation for crews attempting to work on power lines. Also, avoid downed power lines and never touch a fallen power line; treat all lines as if they are energized.
Continue to use the following tips to remain safe during the storm:
- Avoid downed or dangling power lines and report them to Central Electric immediately. Treat all downed lines as if they are energized; never assume that the line is dead.
- Stay away from flooded areas, power lines could be submerged and still energized.
- Stay alert for flooded areas and never attempt to drive through high-water.
- Keep refrigerators and freezers closed as much as possible so your food will last longer in the event of a power outage. After a power outage, thoroughly inspect perishable food and throw
out any spoiled items. - After the storm, drive only if necessary to keep roads clear for emergency personnel and utility workers.
Please visit Central Electric’s Outage Center to view an outage or for information on reporting an outage. Outages can be reported 24-hours a day by calling 1-877-766-6769 or texting “OUT” to 800-446-7752. To use the texting service, you must text “PWR” to 800-446-7752 when using for the first time and the mobile number must be associated with your Central Electric account.
Central Electric, a Touchstone Energy Cooperative based in Sanford, NC, is a not-for-profit electric utilityserving over 22,000 members in Chatham, Harnett, Lee, Moore and Randolph counties.
