Windsor, VA (January 31, 2026) – Community Electric Cooperative (CEC) provided details Saturday morning on steps that it has taken in preparation for the second blast of Arctic weather pushing across the Eastern Seaboard this weekend. They include:
- Line technicians have prepped their trucks with all necessary supplies and materials for any outages that may occur as a result of the storm.
- Because tree damage from Winter Storm Fern was so extensive, two extra tree crews have been secured to assist with recovery efforts.
- CEC is coordinating with the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives for additional mutual aid that could be dispatched on Monday based upon an assessment of the storm’s impacts on Sunday.
“Our crews are prepared to respond to any adverse conditions and will adjust operations as needed to ensure the safety of our employees and the reliability of service for our members,” CEC Manager of Communications Jessica Parr said. “We are concerned about the forecast of high winds, and are preparing to the full extent possible to address outages quickly in the event they occur.”
In its storm warning update Saturday morning, the National Weather Service in Wakefield, Va., stated, “An arctic air mass continues to surge southward into the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. … As the extremely cold air aloft approaches the much warmer waters of the Gulf Stream … a coastal cyclone is forecast to deepen explosively tonight … Tonight into Sunday morning should see the cyclone intensifying most rapidly while expanding in size off the Mid-Atlantic coast when the most intense winds will be accompanied with snow, which could lead to blizzard conditions at times even out to the outer banks of North Carolina early Sunday morning.”
Here are several steps that members can take in preparation for severe weather:
- Assemble an emergency kit. It should include at least a three-day supply of water, non-perishable food, medication, first aid supplies, a flashlight, weather radio and extra batteries. Include a list of emergency contacts.
- Charge your cell phone and have external, backup power sources charged in order to report an outage via the SmartHub app. https://comelec.smarthub.coop/Login.htm
- Fuel up. Fill up your vehicles before the storm as a loss of power could affect gas stations.
Here are the website pages to monitor outages:
- Outage center: https://www.comelec.coop/outage-center/report-an-outage/
- Outage Map: https://ebill.comelec.coop/maps/OutageWebMap/
As a reminder, if wintry conditions lead to downed lines, stay away! Contact with downed lines can be dangerous, even deadly. Report downed power lines to CEC at 757-242-6181 or call 911 immediately.
Community Electric Cooperative, headquartered in Windsor, is a not-for-profit member-owned energy provider that serves nearly 12,000 homes, farms, and businesses in the counties of Isle of Wight, Southampton, Surry and Sussex, and the City of Suffolk. For more information, go to www.comelec.coop.
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