Local electricity providers are also preparing for the expected arrival of Hurricane Earl later tonight.

City Manager Rich Olson said Wednesday that he had met with the city’s department directors for a preliminary discussion of the hurricane. All city employees have been asked to provide contact information and the city has created an emergency calling tree for employees, he said.

Most of the city’s department directors have been through severe storms here before, Olson said.

“We have a finely tuned machine and our staff is familiar with what their responsibilities are,” he said.

As for restoring power knocked out by the hurricane, city officials plan to work as quickly as possible following the storm.

Elizabeth City has emergency agreements through ElectriCities to bring in additional electrical line crews if necessary. Olson said the city has a good working relationship with other municipalities in the state.

City electric customers can report a power outage after hours at 335-2196. During regular office hours, customers may call 337-6870.

Chris Powell, a spokesman for Albemarle Electric Membership Corp., said AEMC also is making preparations for the storm.

“We’re fueling up trucks — topping them off — and sharpening chain saws,” Powell said.

AEMC has reserved hotel rooms in the area for outside line crews. The electric cooperative has agreements in place with other cooperatives if additional crews are needed.

Powell said AEMC has a backup generator and emergency supplies to meet the needs of crews as they respond to an outage.

An outage in the AEMC service area can be reported at 1-800-274-2072. During regular business hours an outage can be reported at 426-5735.

Chuck Penn, a spokesman for Dominion North Carolina Power, said Dominion has been tracking the storm for days to try to anticipate its impact and adjust its work force accordingly — placing crews where they are most needed.

Dominion is on “high alert,” Penn said.

More than 20 states were represented in mutual aid after Hurricane Isabel in 2003 and crews from outside the area also will respond to Earl as needed, Penn said. Dominion will provide all available resources to the hardest-hit areas as needed.

The company doesn’t want to put its field personnel in harm’s way, but once the storm subsides they will be “out in force” doing damage assessment and beginning to restore power, according to Penn.

“When the lights go out, all hands are on deck,” Penn said. “Everyone has a role.”

Customers can call 1-866-DOM-HELP (1-866-366-4357) or 1-888-667-3000 to report an outage in the Dominion service area.

“We’re very concerned about our North Carolina customers and the residents in the Outer Banks area,” Penn said. “We will work to restore power as quickly and safely as we can if power is knocked out.”

Albemarle EMC encourages its customers to remember the following:

• It is important to prepare an emergency kit that includes a flashlight, extra batteries, non-perishable food, a radio, blankets and bottled water in case of power outages.

• Customers may experience flickering lights as wind speeds increase with the arrival of the storm. Sustained outages may follow. AEMC line crews will begin restoration efforts as soon as it is safe.

• Stay away from downed or sparking power lines and report any that you may see to your local electric cooperative immediately.

• Linemen will be dispatched in a systematic way, restoring the main transmission lines first, then working on the distribution lines that will restore power to the most people the fastest. People who live in a high-density area near a substation or transmission line will typically have their power restored sooner than a person who lives at the end of the line in an isolated location.