Early morning storms ripped through Thomasville and Thomas County, leaving more than 2,750 utility customers without power. Initial reports came in around 3:00 a.m. early Sunday morning and continued through a later band of weather that moved through the area around 9:30 a.m.
“At our peak, we had more than 2,700 customers without electrical service,” said Chris White, Assistant Utilities Superintendent. “Utility crews were brought in to begin the restoration process and continue to work to restore all customers. We had less than 300 customers without power around 1:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon.”
Some of the outages were due to downed utility poles, which are more difficult and time consuming to repair. “Customers that see downed poles in their area should anticipate a longer period to reach restoration, but our crews are working to make all necessary repairs,” said White.
Customers are advised to be extremely careful before beginning to remove any downed trees that could include downed power lines. “Call our offices, and we will assess the situation,” said White. “Customers should not attempt to make a determination on their own whether or not they can safely remove downed trees.” Outages should be reported by calling 227-5499.
Customers should also be advised that should the electrical service between the home and the utility pole be impacted, repairs will be required by the homeowner before services can be restored. “Customers should call a licensed electrician to make repairs to any service connected to their residence.”
Thomas County Emergency Management officials have cautioned that a final wave of inclement weather is expected later this afternoon. The National Weather Service has issued a ‘high risk’ advisory for our area and advises that conditions could be worse than those that occurred in the early morning hours.