Clay Electric is prepared to respond to Tropical Storm Nicole’s impact on its service territory. The co-op suggests everyone complete their preparations before the storm’s projected arrival on Thursday.

All Clay Electric offices will be closed to the public on Thursday, Nov. 10 and Friday, Nov. 11 while all personnel focus on storm restoration efforts.

The extent of Nicole’s impact on Clay’s 14-county service territory remains to be seen; however, some co-op members will experience outages. The co-op has secured outside crews for restoration work and vegetation management.

Restoration efforts will begin as soon as it is safe to do so, and crews will make every effort to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.

Members will be able to report outages and view their outage status in the MyClayElectric mobile app or web portal.

Clay Electric Chief Public Relations Officer Derick Thomas said the co-op’s members should review their storm plans and ensure they have an adequate supply of drinking water, non-perishable foods, canned goods and necessary medications.

To help members prepare for a storm, the co-op offers a list of preparations in an annual hurricane guide. It is available here, as are generator safety instructions, a supply list and answers to frequently asked questions.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

• If you or a family member depend on power for medical reasons, have somewhere to go that is out of harm’s way, or have a generator handy.
• If you use a generator, know how to operate it safely, and do not hook it up to your home’s wiring system. It could backfeed into our distribution system and kill or injure personnel making repairs.
• When venturing outdoors after the storm, be careful of low-hanging or downed power lines, which may still be energized.

Information and updates about Clay Electric’s preparation and response to Tropical Storm Nicole will be shared on Facebook and ClayElectric.com.