Co-Mo prepared as storm threatens area

Co-Mo Electric Cooperative is prepared for any emergency as a snow and ice storm bears down on its service territory.

A Tuesday morning (Feb. 19) update from the National Weather Service said that Co-Mo's service territory could expect around 6 inches of snow, with two-tenths of an inch of ice before. The ice plus high winds in the 15 to 20 mph range with gusts up to 30 put the cooperative's poles and lines at risk.

The cooperative maintains and consistently updates an emergency preparedness plan, and employees will be on duty 24 hours a day in the event of a major outage. Co-Mo maintains an aggressive right-of-way clearance program, decreasing the number of trees that could threaten the lines if they become weighed down with ice.

Co-Mo also has emergency preparedness information available for its members at co-mo.coop and will update its membership in the event of widespread major outages at facebook.com/comoelectric and twitter.com/comoelectric, as well as at co-mo.coop.

"If you lose power, you can still get information from those sources via mobile devices and by calling relatives who can check those sources," said the cooperative's CEO and General Manager, Ken Johnson. "And if the situation warrants, we also would update our membership via local radio."