Rounds of Severe Storms Leave Thousands Without Power

Published 3:13 pm Friday, June 16, 2023

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Black Warrior EMC crews are working around the clock to restore electricity

DEMOPOLIS, Ala. – Crews from Black Warrior Electric Membership Corp. and other co-ops and electricity providers are continuing to work to restore power to thousands of homes and businesses in areas of West Central and South Alabama hit this week by multiple rounds of severe storms. It could be several days before electricity is restored to all Black Warrior EMC customers, the co-op reported Friday.

A round of storms on Wednesday left more than 8,000 residences and businesses served by Black Warrior EMC without power. After crews restored service to all but a few hundred of those customers, a round of storms Friday morning knocked out power to approximately 5,000 customers, mostly in Choctaw County. As of Friday, Black Warrior EMC was working to restore power to about 6,000.

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“Crews have been working long, hard hours and will continue to do so over the weekend,” Black Warrior EMC Manager Daryl Jones said. But members should be prepared to be without power possibly for several days.

Customer service representatives are also working day and night dispatching calls from members. To report an outage, call 855-462-9362 (855-GOBWEMC).

According to the Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives, electric co-ops from across the state were assisting about a half-dozen co-ops in central and south Alabama restore power to tens of thousands of customers.

Black Warrior Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned cooperative that has provided reliable, economical service to West Central Alabama since 1939. It serves about 26,000 homes and businesses in 12 counties. For information, go to www.blackwarrioremc.com.