HABERSHAM COUNTY, Ga. — Nearly 12,000 utility customers across Northeast Georgia remained without power Tuesday morning as crews continued restoration efforts following Winter Storm Fern.
As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, Habersham Electric Membership Corp. reported 7,893 customers without power. The majority of those outages were concentrated in White County, where 4,406 customers were affected, and Habersham County, with 2,344 outages.
Hart Electric Membership Corp. reported 23 outages systemwide, including 19 customers in the Capri Point neighborhood of Franklin County.
Georgia Power reported approximately 3,700 customers without power across its Northeast Area, which includes Rabun, Habersham, Banks and White counties.
Area Manager Jeremy Spradlin said crews made progress overnight but cautioned that restoration efforts may slow as work moves into harder-to-reach areas.
“As you know, it’s been a long cold night and morning,” Spradlin said. “We have made some progress over the night with a remaining 3,700 customers without power. At this stage of restoration things slow down a bit due to remote areas (inaccessibility), along with fatigue setting in. Please be patient. We are working diligently to get our customers back to their normal lives. Safety remains our first priority, and we expect to make a lot of progress today.”
Utility officials have repeatedly warned that icy conditions, downed trees and debris, and hazardous roadways could extend restoration timelines, particularly in rural and mountainous areas.
Customers are urged to continue reporting outages, avoid downed power lines, and limit travel as crews work through lingering impacts of the storm.
