Jackson EMC said Friday officials with the cooperative are keeping a close eye on the forecast for Saturday, making sure personnel are ready to respond to any problems associated with a predicted storm for North Georgia.
While no watches or warnings were in place as of Friday afternoon, forecasters were predicting a line of heavy storms would move through North and Central Georgia Saturday afternoon and evening, bringing with it damaging winds and heavy rainfall.
"Jackson EMC linemen and contact center team members stand ready to respond to our members when needed," said Jackson EMC spokeswoman April Sorrow in a press statement.
Sorrow said the cooperative had several severe weather tips for customers:
- Beware of fallen power lines. If you come upon a fallen power line, assume that it is electrically charged. This includes cable TV feeds and telephone lines. Report any downed line to your power company. Report an outage to Jackson EMC at 1-800-245-4044 or by visiting outage.jacksonemc.com.
- Take proper precautions when using a generator if you lose power. Place the generator outside the home, as CO fumes are odorless and can quickly overwhelm you indoors. Also, never connect generators to another power source such as power lines. The reverse flow of electricity or ‘backfeed’ can electrocute an unsuspecting utility worker.
- Prepare for medical needs, such as having a plan for loved ones who depend on medical equipment that requires electricity. This includes backup power, extra supplies or going to an alternative location until the storm is over.
- A final helpful hint. In the event of a power outage, check your breaker panels before calling your power company. Check both the main breaker on the inside panel and outside disconnect (usually only found on newer homes) located close to your electric meter. If the breaker is tripped, it will be stopped halfway between "off" and "on." Turn the breaker off first and then back on to reset it. If you still have power in part of your home, check the individual breakers in the panel.
A complete list of items to prepare in homes and businesses before the storm is available on the Jackson EMC website at: www.jacksonemc.com/storm-center/storm-preparation.
- Report Outages. Jackson EMC members should report outages to 1-800-245-4044, by visiting outage.jacksonemc.com or via the MyJacksonEMC mobile app.
- Storm Center. Outage updates and a map with current outages is available at: www.jacksonemc.com/storm
- Outage Map. Available in the Storm Center, the Outage Map provides real-time information on outages. www.jacksonemc.com/storm
