CEC line crews are on stand-by in preparation for Tropical Storm Karen which is expected to make landfall along the Gulf Coast later this weekend.

Scattered power outages in the CEC service territory could occur depending on the storm’s track, and customers are asked to be prepared. CEC crews will work to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.

In the event of widespread power outages, CEC will call for assistance from unaffected cooperatives that can assist the co-op through mutual aid agreements to restore service more quickly. CEC members can monitor power outages by visiting the Outage Center on the co-op’s website at www.covington.coop and outage updates will also be provided through CEC’s facebook page at www.facebook.com/covingtonelectric. If members lose power at their homes, they may still be able to view this information on their smartphones.

CEC officials remind people to always stay away from downed or sagging power lines. All downed power lines should be treated as if they are energized and potentially deadly. People seeing a downed power line should stay away from it and report it to CEC at 1-800-239-1193 or call 911.