Power restored after storm punishes county

A tree fell across Park Street and power lines in Asheboro during the storm. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

ASHEBORO — About one-third of the accounts for Randolph Electric Membership Corporation experienced some sort of power outage stemming from the leftovers from Hurricane Ian.

REMC reported that all power had been restored by early Sunday morning.

“I am proud and appreciative of our line personnel and support team for going the extra mile for our members,” said Dale Lambert, CEO of REMC. “As always, our team worked as safely and efficiently as possible to repair the damage.”

The cooperative said that crews worked through Saturday night to restore power. All members in Randolph, Moore, Montgomery, Chatham, and Alamance counties had received power hours later.

As a result of the storm, REMC had 268 separate outages. REMC’s system sustained numerous fallen trees, downed lines, and broken power poles. 

Additional line personnel from sister cooperatives Union Power and Edgecombe-Martin County EMC in North Carolina, along with crew members Sumter Utilities in South Carolina, joined REMC line crew and contractors in restoration efforts.

According to information from REMC, there are damaged trees that could fall and cause new outages in the upcoming days. Members should report any potentially damaging situations.

By early Monday afternoon, according to tracking devices, only three Duke Energy customers were without power in Randolph County. Duke Energy is the largest power provider in the county.

Last Thursday, Randolph County officials declared a local state of emergency effective at 1 p.m. Friday. A state of emergency was declared for all unincorporated areas of the county.

By Bob Sutton