Amicalola EMC offices will be closed Monday, Dec. 25 and Tuesday, Dec. 26 to allow  our employees to enjoy Christmas with their families. We will also be closed Monday, Jan. 1, 2018 to observe New Year’s Day. Should you experience a power outage, please call one of the outage management telephone numbers: 706-253-0359 OR 706-276-0359 OR 706-864-7979.

Please be aware we have been notified an individual/individuals may be calling present or past members of Amicalola EMC regarding possible capital credit refunds. We do not authorize anyone to contact you on our behalf. Please do not give out any personal information regarding your electric account or other accounts. It is common knowledge that we post a list on our website containing names of people who have an unclaimed capital credit refund. If in question, please go to www.amicalolaemc.com, Capital Credits, and click on the link Unclaimed Recipients. If your name appears on the list, please call 706-253-5200 or 706-276-5200 or 706-864-7979 and ask for Member Services. You can then speak to an Amicalola EMC employee who will guide you through the process to claim your refund.

We are now down to 129 members out; this is broken down as 27 outages across 6 counties. If power has been restored to your area, or if it’s been several hours or more than a day since you’ve reported and you’re still out of power, please call the outage system to let us know. 706-253-0359 OR 706-276-0359 OR 706-864-0359. Please continue to stay away from any downed power lines and always assume they are still energized. Thank you for your patience.

We are now down to 248 members currently still out. We continue to battle away to get all power restored.

Current member outages are now down to 684. All crews continue to work hard to get all power restored. We are hopeful the majority will be restored by midnight, although there is a possibility that some may linger into tomorrow. As always, it’s extremely hard to determine an exact restoration time, because of so many variables such as time each job requires, location and condition of lines, etc. Please remember to stay away from any downed power lines and always assume they are still energized.

Our crews have made significant progress and we are now down to 2084 members. The challenge comes from these being in 193 separate locations. We will continue to battle and are very certain much progress will be made today. Please remember to report outages to the following numbers only: 706-253-0359 OR 706-276-0359 OR 706-864-0359. This allows us to capture the information we need. Thank you for your patience and please remember to stay away from any downed power lines and always assume they are still energized.

We are currently down to approx. 4900 outages. We are very thankful for all the assistance we are getting from contractor crews and crews from our sister EMCs. Thank you for your patience as we keep working to restore power to our members

7800 members remain out of power. This is down from over 16,000. We have brought in 140 extra outside crew members in addition to 100 that are Amicalola EMC employees. At least 5 broken poles have been changed out and that count is expected to rise considerably. The sunny day and slightly warmer forecasted temps are a welcome addition to our restoration efforts. Thank you for your patience as we work to restore all power as soon as is safely possible.

Member outages are now down to 10,200. Crews continue to work in all areas. Each storm is different, but the overall process is the same. Assess the damage, develop a plan, restore power. The weather is beyond our control and their are legal limits that dictate how the right of way is cleared. Amicalola EMC has an average of 8 meters per mile of line. A crew could work for hours and get less than a dozen homes back on. The area is beautiful, one of the most beautiful places on earth, but we pay a price for our rural setting. The challenges are far different than an urban area. The local investor owned utility has about 32 meters per mile of line…. to our 8. We will continue to battle to restore all power as soon as is safely possible. In the meantime, please stay away from any downed power lines and always assume they are still energized. Please call 706-253-0359 OR 706-276-0359 OR 706-864-0359 to report an outage. If you determine those around you have power, be sure to call back to report a second time. Please continue to be patient, and we ask for your prayers for the safety of all our workers and our members.

Latest update from Georgia EMC:

Tucker, Ga. – At 3 p.m., Georgia’s electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) are reporting approximately 149,000 customers without power, up from 96,000 this morning.

While line crews have restored service to thousands of customers since yesterday, a second band of winter weather arrived overnight and in the pre-dawn hours and caused thousands of new outages.

This storm produced as much as 10 inches of snow in some areas and caused heavy damage in Cobb, Carroll, Cherokee, Douglas, Paulding and Union Counties. Other affected counties include Bartow, Douglas, Forsyth, Fulton, Gilmer, Lumpkin, Habersham, Hall, Haralson, Pickens, Rabun, Towns and White Counties.

The weight of snow in particular in these areas has been a challenge as it causes trees to snap or lean into the right of way, bringing down lines or causing them to touch. Repairs have been time-intensive since outages are widespread and in some cases located in every corner of an EMC’s service area.

To assist in the rate of restoration, nearly 300 additional linemen and 50 right-of-way crews from Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Florida have descended upon the affected areas. They will work until all power is restored.

Georgia EMC is the statewide trade association representing the state’s 41 EMCs, Oglethorpe Power Corp., Georgia Transmission Corp. and Georgia System Operations Corp. Collectively, Georgia’s customer-owned EMCs provide electricity and related services to 4.4 million people, nearly half of Georgia’s population, across 73 percent of the state’s land area.