As of 5:30 a.m., Monday, Jan. 10, the electric membership cooperatives are reporting approximately 600 customers without power in Gordon, Whitfield, Walker and Chattooga Counties. Outages have been caused by heavy snowfall which is weighing down tree limbs causing them to fall on power lines.

The EMCs began preparing for the storm Friday and mobilized employees and contract crews, prepared trucks with emergency equipment and procured necessary materials.

They have stocked supplies of poles, wire, connectors, transformers and other materials frequently used in the restoration process. They have also contacted unaffected EMCs to arrange for additional restoration assistance.

Georgia EMC is the statewide trade association representing the state's 42 EMCs, Oglethorpe Power Corp., Georgia Transmission Corp. and Georgia System Operations Corp. Collectively, Georgia's customer-owned EMCs provide electricity and related services to more than four million people, half of Georgia's population, across 73 percent of the state's land area.