Georgia Power is getting ready to upgrade transformers in the Rincon commercial area in advance of a planned power outage April 12. The affected area will include the Subway Shop, the Sonic, the Days Inn, Effingham Herald offices and others in the commercial center along Highway 21.

The outages are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and may last from eight to 12 hours, depending on the location and electrical configuration.

The Citizens Bank in Rincon will be affected by the power outage on Monday but senior vice president Alan Lewis said they would handle the outage much as they did for the Springfield office’s outage. He said the main bank offices in Rincon would be closed but they will keep their drive-through, run by a large generator, open. He said that their customers should expect to be able to complete most of their normal business transactions.

Ruby Dyer, manager of the Sonic Drive-in, said they plan to open at their regular time of 6 a.m. and continue serving until their power is cut off for the transfer. She said a skeleton staff will stay in the business until the power comes back on. Dyer is hopeful they will be able to start back up again about 1 p.m. when they hope the power is restored.

A similar plan of action was anticipated by at the Shell gas station manager Dineshbhai Patel, who said they also would open at their normal time of 6 a.m. and then stand by to reopen as soon as their power was restored. He emphasized they would not be able to sell gas or any products during the outage.

Residential customers with questions can call 1-888-660-5890 and commercial customers can call 1-888-655-5888.