Thousands lose power in cold

By Kay S. Pedrottinews@pikecountygeorgia.comAlmost-winter dropped that qualifier last week, with temperatures in the teens and more than 3,000 area residents without power Dec. 9.Southern Rivers Energy communications specialist Erin Cook said 848 Lamar County customers experienced power outages but the number in the SRE area in Pike County was 1,443. The outages were caused by ‘a number of complications of the extreme cold and sudden heavy demand’ as people began to get ready for the day, Cook added. Outage reports began coming in around 5 a.m. last Thursday, launching numerous crews to work on the problems.