Carrollton, GA—Twelve linemen from Carroll Electric Membership Cooperative return home after trekking through snow and ice in Kentucky to restore power to Members of South Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative (RECC), Grayson RECC and Jackson Energy Cooperative.

States across the South-Central regions of the United States continue to recover from the brutal winter storms that brought an accumulation of snow and ice. Electric cooperatives in Kentucky reported thousands of outages as worsening conditions caused system-wide damage. Rough terrain, including fallen trees and slick roads, extended the outage time for many Members and presented challenges for electric crews.

Cooperatives from surrounding states provided the additional assistance and equipment needed to get power back to EMC members. Crews from Carroll EMC traveled to Somerset, Grayson and McKee, KY, to aid other cooperatives in the restoration process. Carroll EMC linemen have extensive experience in restoring power following destruction from a variety of weather events, including ice storms.

“Every storm presents its own unique challenges,” said Tommy Cook, Vice President of Operations for Carroll EMC. “It has been four years since we experienced our last major winter storm, and it took weeks to fully recover. We valued mutual aid during that time, and we are more than willing to assist fellow cooperatives when they need our help.”

Carroll EMC crews who had been working in Kentucky for more than a week are now home, and additional linemen left for Grayson RECC over the weekend to help restore the remaining outages.

Carroll EMC is a Member-owned cooperative providing electricity to approximately 50,000 homes and businesses. The co-op serves Members in Carroll, Haralson, Heard, Paulding, Polk, Floyd and Troup counties. This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer. For more information visit the cooperative’s website at carrollemc.com or follow Carroll EMC on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn. Carroll EMC: Community Built. Community Builder.