NORTH CAROLINA, USA — Lineworkers are resting up across the Triad as another round of ice heads our way.
Crews were called in to lend a helping hand over the weekend in northern parts of the Triad, and are now looking ahead to the next storm Thursday.
Randolph Electric Membership Corporation CEO Dale Lambert said they sent crews to assist in the northern part of the state near the Virginia line over the weekend.
They called crews back to rest up in time for Thursday.
"We think this event is mainly going to be in the northern part of our service territory, which will be Randolph County, Chatham County, and also Alamance County," said Lambert, "So we're planning for outage events in all of those areas of our service territory and we do expect it to be significant."
Lambert said the area they service didn't get hit hard for the last storm, so he's encouraging customers to stay on their toes.
"Prepare for a multi-day event. Make all preparations for alternate heat, water, anything that you would need to get through multiple days without power," Lambert said, "We encourage you to plan and plan for safety, too. If you see any downed powerlines, stay away from those."
Lambert stresses also practicing safety with alternative heating devices, to make sure you're using them for their intended use.
Lambert said they have compiled data archived from past storms to try and best prepare them for what to expect.
The City of High Point's electric utility department is also preparing ahead of the storm. Assistant Director Tyler Berrier said they've called in crews from New Bern to help them with getting things back up and running.
"You can sit around and dread it but what’s gonna happen is gonna happen. All we can do is be prepared. Be prepared for the worst. You obviously don’t want it to happen,' Berrier said.
Berrier said it only took a day for them to get all power back on after the storm Saturday.
"Saturday was probably a preview of what we're looking to get tomorrow," Berrier said.
Through the night Wednesday crews will be resting and ready to go Thursday when the storm rolls in.
"Our guys are not looking forward to it. You’re looking at working in the rain, 33, 32 degrees and rain, you’re outside setting poles, working in a bucket but it's what you have to do," Berrier said.
Crews are preparing all over the Triad and Carolinas, including Duke Energy, which said it's projecting 1 million power outages between North and South Carolina.
Duke Energy said it's preparing for a multi-day restoration.
"Our crews are trying to take advantage of this day to rest and they're very focused on getting back to work tomorrow to help customers," Jeff Brooks with Duke Energy said.
Brooks said many of the workers are veterans of severe storms, including hurricanes and winter weather. "They know the challenges and understand the work," he said, "Most importantly they know that the customers are counting on them and that's a great motivator when the temperatures are extreme and the conditions are difficult."