Situation
Severe storms with heavy rain and high winds moved into Appalachian Power Company's (APCo) service territory Monday evening and continued through Tuesday morning, bringing down trees and limbs and causing widespread outages across the region. At the height of the storm, approximately 28,000 customers were without power. Crews worked throughout the night and restored service to roughly 17,300 customers by 11 a.m. Tuesday, while continuing to respond to additional damage and outages caused by ongoing severe weather.
This is predicted to be a multi-day event with strong wind gusts of up to 60-80 mph and heavy rain expected to begin this afternoon into this evening, which could lead to additional power outages.
APCo’s Storm Response Team is closely monitoring weather conditions and remains committed to restoring power to affected customers as safely and quickly as possible.
Weather Conditions
The first wave of high winds and heavy rain has moved through APCo’s service territory, but the storm system is expected to be a multi-day event. Additional heavy rainfall and wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph are forecast to develop this afternoon and continue into the evening, increasing the risk of further outages.
High winds and heavy rain can create dangerous and challenging conditions for field crews. Wind speeds above 30 mph make elevated bucket truck work unsafe, which may slow restoration in some areas until crews can safely access equipment and complete repairs.
Outages
Outages may increase as a second band of storms enters APCo’s service territory this afternoon.
Currently, about 11,000 customers are without electric service, including 6,000 in Virginia and 5,000 in West Virginia.
Storm Response Efforts
APCo crews mobilized ahead of the storm and worked through the night to restore power as outages occurred. The company added 400 mutual assistance workers from Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee to assist with service restoration. The crews are focused on restoring service as safely and quickly as weather and field conditions allow.
Restoration Estimates
Customers currently without power are expected to have service restored by this evening. If the anticipated storms this afternoon cause additional outages, updated restoration estimates will be provided as crews assess the additional damage. Real-time outage updates and estimated times of restoration (ETR) are available at AppalachianPower.com/OutageMap.
Safety Messages
Stay away from downed power lines and anything they may contact, such as tree limbs or fences. Immediately report safety hazards by calling 911 or APCo at 1-800-956-4237.
Additional safety tips are available at AppalachianPower.com/Safety.
For More Information
If a customer experiences a power outage, APCo’s Storm Response Team encourages them to report it at AppalachianPower.com/Outages.
APCo will notify customers with information about the outages affecting their account(s) via text message and/or email with Outage Alerts. Customers can verify their enrollment and contact information at AppalachianPower.com/Alerts.
Next Update: Tuesday, Aug. 11, 5 p.m.