Special to Iredell Free News

More than 40,000 EnergyUnited members, including about 16,000 in Iredell County, experienced power outages on Thursday due to heavy winds from Tropical Storm Zeta.

Crews were sidelined early in the morning as high wind speeds impacted their ability to safely begin necessary system repairs. Damage assessments and restoration efforts were accelerated early Thursday afternoon as conditions improved.

As of Thursday evening, more than 25,000 members are still without power and the cooperative has requested assistance from other electric cooperatives and contractor crews.

EnergyUnited is estimating a multi-day event. However, there are many variables that impact these estimations, including the availability of additional crews.

Many crews from Ohio and 11 electric cooperatives, including Carteret Craven, Pitt & Green, Tideland, Four County, Brunswick, Union, Randolph, Jones Onslow and Powell Valley in Tennessee are scheduled to arrive on Friday to aid in the cooperative’s response.

Real-time power outage totals and locations can be viewed on the cooperative’s website and regular updates will be continue to be posted on Facebook and Twitter. EnergyUnited members are reminded to stay far away from downed power lines and to always assume any power line is energized and dangerous. Members are asked to call 1-800-EUNITED (1-800-386-4833) to report outages.

About EnergyUnited

EnergyUnited Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) is the largest electric cooperative in North Carolina serving nearly 130,000 metering points. Headquartered in Statesville, EnergyUnited provides electric service in portions of nineteen counties in west central North Carolina which include Alexander, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Randolph, Rockingham, Rowan, Stokes, Wilkes and Yadkin. Visit EnergyUnited online at https://www.energyunited.com/restoring-power/ to learn more about the cooperative’s power restoration process.