If the “Blizzard of 1993” was the storm of the 20th century, then the December 18th snow storm has to be King of the 21st century, as it relates to French Broad Electric. 

This storm was the most destructive storm in FBEMC’s 70 year history.  When combined with the ice storm that followed over Christmas, it was a full nine days before our system was fully repaired.  During that time, our crews worked 18 to 20 hours a day rebuilding lines and replacing poles, while 30 outside crews with about 150 line workers assisted our crews with the storm restoration effort. 

The storm was so destructive that it destroyed the phone lines from our office to the main switch, eliminating our phone service.  In many areas, roads were covered with snow and ice for days, making it difficult to get where we needed to be.  Falling trees and heavy snow accumulated on our power lines taking them to the ground and breaking many of the poles that once supported them.  It is estimated that over 100 poles had to be replaced and hundreds of miles of line had to be repaired.  Replacement of so many poles takes a considerable amount of time, depending on their location.  With so much snow on the ground, it was impossible to get truck access to most of the poles that were destroyed; therefore, they had to be set by hand.  Setting a pole by hand can take 10 to 12 hours, and in more difficult situations, it can take up to 18 hours.  Tying a crew up for such a long period of time on a single job significantly slows the restoration process, but is necessary in order to rebuild a line. 

Our crews worked very hard day and night to make sure everyone had their electrical service back as quickly as possible.  They not only worked long hours under difficult conditions, but sacrificed holiday time with their families so that all our customers could have service restored. Like some of our customers, they themselves went without power for days, working on the main feeder lines first and smaller taps later.

It is very fulfilling to know we have a solid group of employees who are so committed to FBEMC and its customers.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our members.  I have received countless phone calls and emails in regards to the prolonged outage and almost all of them were positive, reflecting an understanding of how difficult the situation was and how hard the crews were working.  Many of you spoke kindly to our employees and offered your praise and gratitude, as well as food and warm drinks.  Our customers recognized the amount of damage we incurred, and were patient, understanding and supportive of our crews’ efforts.

Maybe it was the holiday spirit taking over, but from my past storm experiences, I think it’s just the way folks are here in the mountains of Western North Carolina. 

Thank You,

Jeff Loven
Email: jeff.loven@frenchbroademc.com


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