Rita Alexander, VP of HR and Member Services at Gibson Electric Membership, released the fourth update around 6:13 pm.
“Gibson Electric Membership Corporation crews, along with crews from Southwest Tennessee Electric, Pickwick Electric, Service Electric and Cruse Powerline, have restored service to 3,751 members’ homes/businesses today, but there are still 2,295 without power and 88 outage trouble spots. Unfortunately, damage is so extensive that we do not expect to restore service to everyone tonight. If you need electricity for a medical reason, please make plans for an alternative accommodation. If you know of an elderly family member or neighbor who may be without power, please check on them. We are very sorry for this inconvenience and appreciate your continued patience.”
Rita Alexander, VP of HR and Member Services at Gibson Electric Membership, released the fourth update around 2:20 pm.
“Progress is slow, but steady in restoring service to Gibson Electric Membership Corporation’s member-owners. We currently have 3,526 members’ homes/businesses without power and 74 outage trouble spots. The outages are primarily in Lake and Obion counties in Tennessee and in Carlisle, Hickman, Fulton and Graves counties in Kentucky. We also have a small outage in north Gibson County.
With more than 50 broken poles and new reports of broken poles continuing to come in, service restoration will be time-intensive. Gibson Electric’s crews have been working since the outages began early this morning and we’re grateful for the expert assistance we are receiving from Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation, Pickwick Electric Cooperative, Service Electric Company and Cruse Powerline Construction.
Please keep yourself safe by staying far away from broken poles, downed lines and trees that could be touching power lines. If using a generator, be sure to follow all manufacturer instructions. It should be located in a well-ventilated area and installed by a licensed electrician. If improperly installed, a generator can back feed and endanger those working to restore your service. Please also help us keep our employees safe by slowing down and moving over if you see us working in an area.”
Around 12:40 pm, Rita Alexander, VP of HR and Member Services at Gibson Electric Membership, released the third update.
“New storms have rolled through leaving Gibson Electric Membership Corporation with 3,804 members’ homes/businesses without power and 68 outage trouble spots. Many of Gibson Electric’s outages remain in Lake and Obion counties in Tennessee and in Carlisle, Hickman, Fulton and Graves counties in Kentucky. The cooperative reports dozens of broken poles and new outages in north Gibson County.”
Original Story:
OBION CO., Tenn.—Storm causes damage and power outages in Obion and Lake Counties.
Gibson Electric Membership reports over 4,000 without power in its service area due to this morning’s storm.
Rita Alexander, VP of HR and Member Services at Gibson Electric Membership, released the following updates.
The second update came in around 11 am.
“Gibson Electric Membership has 4,421 members’ homes and businesses without power and 52 trouble spots. All of its crews are working and they have enlisted help from Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation, Pickwick Electric Cooperative, Service Electric Company and Cruse Powerline Construction. The cooperative is providing updates through its Gibson EMC Facebook page, but says the outage is expected to be lengthy. They report that dozens of poles are broken; and they encourage those who rely on electricity for health reasons to consider making alternative arrangements.”
The first update came in around 10:19 a.m.
“Gibson Electric Membership Corporation has considerable damage from this morning’s storms. We have more than 20 broken poles in Lake County and additional broken poles in Obion County. We’re continuing to do damage assessment. Unfortunately, broken poles mean service restoration will be time-intensive. At this time we have 5,304 members without power and 52 outage trouble spots. Most of our outages are in Lake and Obion counties in Tennessee and in Carlisle, Hickman and Fulton counties in Kentucky. We also have some members without power in Graves County, Kentucky and in Crockett County, Tennessee. Crews are hard at work and will restore service to everyone as quickly as they safely can. We’ll give progress updates as we learn more.”
The initial message came in around 8:37 am
“This morning’s storms have caused outages to 6,326 of Gibson Electric Membership Corporation’s members’ homes and businesses in Hickman, Carlisle, Fulton and Graves counties in Kentucky and in Obion, Lake, and Crockett counties in Tennessee. We have 45 outage trouble spots and more are coming in. Crews have been working since the outages began at 5:44 AM and will restore service as quickly as is safely possible.
Gibson Electric warns members to not go near downed power lines as they may be energized and extremely dangerous. The cooperative is providing updates on its Gibson EMC Facebook page.
Gibson Electric is a local, not-for-profit, member-owned and member-controlled electric cooperative serving more than 39,000 homes and businesses in eight west Tennessee counties (Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Haywood, Lake, Lauderdale, Obion and Madison) and four west Kentucky counties (Carlisle, Fulton, Graves and Hickman). Gibson Connect is a wholly-owned, not-for-profit subsidiary of Gibson EMC, providing high-speed, fiber-based broadband service access to the cooperative’s eligible members.”
They say crews are working to restore service to the area.
Stay tuned to WBBJ-7 on air and online as we learn more.
For more local news, click here.
Categories: Crockett County, Gibson County, Local News, News
