Crews restored power to about 3,000 REC members on Friday and will continue their efforts overnight and into Saturday after the remnants of Hurricane Michael stormed through REC's service territory.
Heavy rain and gusty winds knocked out power to more than 12,000 REC members at the peak of the storm. As of Friday evening, about 3,500 members remained without service with more than 140 separate outage events across REC's 22-county service territory. Crews continue to encounter roads blocked by flooding water and debris, as well as saturated rights of way, making travel difficult in many areas. REC hopes to restore most electric service by late Saturday.
REC has called in mutual aid crews from Virginia, Delaware, North Carolina and South Carolina to help with restoration efforts. REC maintains mutual aid agreements with electric cooperatives to secure help in advance of potential major outages. Many of the remaining outages are concentrated in REC's eastern territory, which saw the strongest winds and heaviest rain. Crews will continue to work in 16-hour shifts, as they replace poles, remove fallen trees and restring wires.
To report an outage, log in to MyREC SmartHub or visit myrec.coop/out. For those who prefer to phone in to report an outage, call toll-free: 1-800-552-3904. Monitor power outages and important information in the Outage Center in MyREC SmartHub or at www.myrec.coop/outagecenter.
REC provides electric service to over 165,000 connections in parts of 22 Virginia counties. With its general office in Fredericksburg, Va., the Cooperative operates and maintains more than 17,000 miles of power lines through its service area, which ranges from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay. For more information about REC, please visit www.myrec.coop. Follow REC on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
