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Georgia Power remains committed to providing its 2.6 million customers safe and reliable service, while offering important safety tips and storm resources as the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season arrives amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The official start of hurricane season is June 1, and while the National Weather Service predicts an above average storm season, it only takes one major storm to disrupt daily activities and cause extensive damage to communities.     

Georgia Power reminds customers to keep safety first during hurricane season and offers the following storm tips:   

• Before a Storm:  Know your risks of storm surge and tropical storm or hurricane strength winds. Check your emergency kit, unplug major appliances and charge cell phones in case you lose power.

• During a Storm: Have several ways to receive emergency notifications and weather updates. If your area is under an evacuation order, follow safety orders from local officials immediately.

• After a Storm: Never touch any downed or low-hanging wire, including telephone or TV wires that touch a power line. Never pull tree limbs off power lines or enter areas with debris or downed trees as downed power lines may be buried in wreckage. Additionally, do not walk or drive through standing water as it may conceal live wires brought down by the storm. 

Before severe weather strikes, customers are encouraged to become familiar with Georgia Power’s Outage Map onwww.georgiapower.com that makes tracking and reporting outage information on the go even easier. The Outage Map automatically adjusts to function on any desktop, handheld or mobile device and has direct access to Georgia Power’s social media channels for quick engagement with customer service representatives. Additionally, users have greater search capabilities with concise alert information relating to their specific outage. 

Additional Georgia Power Tools You Can Use

• Outage Alerts: Subscribe to the free Georgia Power Outage Alert service to receive personalized notifications and updates via text message.

• Outage & Storm Center: At www.georgiapower.com/storm, customers can sign up for Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information. Customers can also report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at 888-891-0938.

• Georgia Power Mobile App: Download the Georgia Power mobile app for Apple and Android devices to access storm and outage information on the go.

• @GeorgiaPower on Twitter: Follow @GeorgiaPower on Twitter for storm tips, outage updates, customer service and more.

Storm Response Pandemic Preparations

Georgia Power constantly monitors changing weather conditions and is prepared to respond to service interruptions that might occur because of severe weather while taking proactive actions including special “distancing” and other precautions to help protect customers and employees from the spread of the virus.

The company’s investments in Smart Grid technology and increased automation in recent years mean an increased ability to more quickly isolate outages to smaller numbers of customers and reroute power remotely for improved reliability. In addition, the company’s comprehensive pandemic plans help ensure readiness of the critical personnel and facilities necessary to continue providing the safe and reliable energy customers expect and deserve. 

In the field, the power restoration process includes these key steps:

• Assessing Conditions – Responding crews – or in major storms, damage assessment teams – work to identify trouble spots and the resources needed to fix them, which could involve coming onto customers’ property. Crews will employ appropriate distancing efforts and customers are asked to keep children and pets indoors and maintain safe distances from crew members as well.

• Making Repairs – Georgia Power crews focus on repairs that return power to the greatest number of customers in the least amount of time.

Ways you can help keep workers safe while they work in the field:

• If you see utility crews, please stay back a minimum of six feet – much more if they are working.

• Please, no cookies or treats for workers during this time. Give a wave or thumbs up to workers you see. They’ll understand your gratitude as they work to keep the lights on.

• Don’t touch utility trucks or equipment. Electric providers are operating under modified conditions to keep workers safe, which includes additional cleaning and sanitation of tools and equipment.

 

EarthLink, a leading provider of internet and online services, is ranked as the top internet service provider in Customer Satisfaction according to HighSpeedInternet.com’s recent customer survey. EarthLink earned the 2020 highest customer satisfaction scores overall and in six of the eight categories surveyed. 

Poll results for overall customer satisfaction, service installation and setup, billing, technical support, mobile apps, and provider equipment ranked EarthLink higher than the other 14 ISPs in the survey. 

From the survey recap – “This is the first time EarthLink has appeared in our customer satisfaction survey, and the ISP crushed it. Customers ranked it above every other provider in six of our eight categories—EarthLink came in third for both speed and reliability. There are a few reasons why customers might be particularly satisfied with EarthLink internet service. For one, the ISP doesn’t have “teaser” rates at the beginning of your contract, only to raise prices later. And EarthLink doesn’t have any data caps.”

“This survey is a testament to the hard work and dedication of every member of the EarthLink team to deliver intentional customer experiences,” said EarthLink CEO Glenn Goad. “Customer recognition is the highest honor, and it’s wonderful to be acknowledged for how we treat and communicate with customers.”

“Results like this are possible because of EarthLink’s Customer Engagement Platform,” continued Goad. “Our intentional customer experience is built on three key principles: engaging customers quickly and ahead of an issue, matching the customer with a knowledgeable EarthLink employee who can resolve the issue with one conversation, and making sure every engagement is memorable.” 

HighSpeedInternet.com surveyed more than 2,800 people across the US—between 100 and 200 customers for each of 15 internet service providers—and asked them to rank their satisfaction with their internet service.

The full survey results can be found at EarthLink.net – HighSpeedInternet.com 2020’s Best Internet Providers in Customer Satisfaction

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Thousands of protesters returned to Downtown Atlanta on Sunday afternoon ahead of a 9 p.m. curfew imposed for a second night by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

MARTA announced it would suspend all rail, bus, streetcar and paratransit services at 9 p.m. on Sunday as part of the curfew extension. Riders should board their last train by 8:30 p.m.; all 38 rail stations will close at 9 p.m.

Sparked by the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, peaceful protests on Friday and Saturday night ended in violence, looting, arson, and vandalism in Downtown and Buckhead.

The Georgia National Guard and Georgia State Patrol joined Atlanta Police officers to patrol the streets again on Sunday following a “zero tolerance” order by Chief Erika Shields. Atlanta Police made 157 arrests on Saturday night alone.

Gov. Brian Kemp issued a state of emergency declaration for the entire state, calling up 3,000 National Guard troops to deploy not only to Atlanta, but Athens, Savannah, and Macon ahead of expected protests.

On Sunday evening, there was a heavy law enforcement presence Downtown and in Buckhead, where there were social media rumors of more protests at Lenox Square. The National Guard has been using the Lenox parking lot as a staging area.

Bottoms and Atlanta Police Department Chief Erika Shields held a press conference just after 6 p.m. to discuss the curfew and announce that two APD officers had been fired for using excessive force during an arrest of two students on Saturday night.

Bottoms said an officer struck by a protester riding an ATV on Saturday night was still in critical condition and hoped he would be able to walk again. The ATV driver was taken into custody.

The mayor said she wanted to remind Atlanta of why the protests were happening, because the message was being lost in the media coverage of the violence. “Our country is in upheaval because of the killing of African Americans by law enforcement across the country.”

The post Thousands of protesters gather for a third night in Downtown ahead of 9 p.m. curfew appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

The Atlanta Police Department has fired two officers who used excessive force in arresting two college students during Saturday night’s protests in Downtown.

The incident was caught on video widely circulated on social media that showed five officers tasing a Morehouse and a Spelman student in their car. The other three officers have been assigned desk duty pending further disciplinary action.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields spent Sunday afternoon reviewing the officers’ body cameras before making the decision to terminate the two officers.

Bottoms said in a 6 p.m. press conference that the bodycam images were “awful” and ordered charges dropped against the two students. “Excessive force is never acceptable,” Bottoms said.

Shields said she was “shocked” by the bodycam footage. “We have a responsibility not to escalate and cause harm or injury. I was shocked by the  video of how these college students were manhandled in their car. I knew there was only one option and that was to terminate these officers. I apologize to both of the students and how we behaved as an agency. It was unacceptable.”

APD said it would release the bodycam footage and detailed report on the incident to the media this evening. Check back for updates.

The post APD fires two officers after college students ‘manhandled’ during Saturday protest appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

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