COBB COUNTY, Ga. — As wind and ice threaten trees and power lines across North Georgia, Cobb EMC says crews are ready to respond quickly if outages occur this weekend.
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The utility company has staged 90 crews and between 400 and 500 trucks, with some workers traveling in from Florida and Alabama to help restore power if conditions worsen. Cobb EMC officials say crews could begin responding to outages as early as Saturday night, though that timeline could shift depending on weather conditions.
Cobb EMC serves more than 200,000 customers across five counties, with the highest concentration in Cobb and Cherokee counties.
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“This is where our linemen will go up in the bucket and work to restore power,” a Cobb EMC representative explained while walking past the fleet of trucks staged for deployment.
Each truck is equipped with specialized gear, including snow chains that are only installed once ice or snow is on the ground. Crews also follow strict safety protocols while working near live power lines.
“They have to wear rubber boots, rubber gloves, and equipment that actually wraps around the line itself,” officials said. “We have lots of safety precautions in place.”
Every truck is also outfitted with an iPad, allowing crews to input the cause of an outage, provide estimated restoration times and mark jobs as complete in real time—keeping customers informed throughout the process.
Inside Cobb EMC’s power control center, operators can remotely monitor the entire electrical grid and often detect outages before customers report them.
“We have some redundancies in our system,” Krista Williams with Cobb EMC said. “What we’re often able to do from the office is get people restored without even having to send a crew out.”
Cobb EMC urges customers to prepare now by charging devices, stocking up on food and blankets, and planning ahead in case of a power outage. Customers can check outages, access storm resources and sign up for text alerts through Cobb EMC’s website.
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