Georgia experiences loss of power as Hurricane Michael arrives

The company is prepared to respond with approximately 3900 personnel from the company, other Southern Company operating companies and assisting utilities ready to restore power as quickly and safely as possible following the storm. All of Georgia Power's resources are being held and dedicated to storm restoration efforts in the state following Hurricane Michael.

Georgia Power expects damage due to high winds, heavy rain and fallen trees. Once the storm passes, the company must wait until conditions are safe for damage assessment teams to enter the impacted zones and begin the restoration process, followed by repair crews, which could take several days, depending on the amount of damage and safe access to the area. As weather conditions improve, restoration efforts will accelerate, but it could take an extended period of time for all customers to be restored.

When severe weather strikes, Georgia Power has access to additional resources available as part of the Southern Company system, which includes multiple electric and gas companies serving more than 9 million customers nationwide. Additionally, Georgia Power is part of a national mutual assistance network consisting of dozens of utilities from around the country, and the company is able to tap into reinforcements when needed to restore power to Georgia customers following a storm. The company has contacted and requested aid through the mutual assistance network and additional resources have been assigned.

As of 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, there were more than 65 000 customers without power in Georgia and more than 600 individual cases of damage (including broken poles and lines) the company is working to repair. Damage and outages are primarily concentrated in South and West Georgia.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/power/11102018/georgia-experiences-loss-of-power-as-hurricane-michael-arrives/