REC crews and contractors continue to restore service after soaking rain and today’s strong winds combined to topple trees and knock out power – especially in REC’s Eastern Region.

REC also has requested mutual-aid crews to assist with power restoration. At the peak of the outage, more than 8,000 member-owners lost power. As of 1:30 p.m., about 5,000 remained without electricity.

Because the ground was already saturated, Friday’s heavy winds caused numerous trees to fall, broke utility poles and downed wires. Winds gusting up to 50 mph have further hampered restoration efforts, and soft ground has made it difficult for bucket trucks to access damage sites. As a result, crews have had to manually carry supplies deep into rights of way to make repairs and restore service.

“The damage is widespread and significant,” said Casey Hollins, director of communications and public relations. “The continuing wind also means that some member-owners may lose power more than once as crews continue their work. We have all available resources working to remove trees from the lines, make the necessary repairs and get the lights back on as quickly and safely as possible.”