Appalachian Power Storm Response Update
10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 19
Situation
Heavy rain and strong wind gusts up to 60 mph early Friday caused power outages across Appalachian Power's (APCo) service area. With soil saturated from heavy rain, today's gusty winds can more easily uproot trees or snap large limbs, likely causing more outages.
Wind gusts over 30 mph create unsafe working conditions for working aloft in buckets, which could slow restoration efforts in some areas.
Outages
At 10 a.m., approximately 43,000 APCo customers are without electric service. The damage is widespread, with the hardest-hit areas Friday morning being Kanawha, Mingo and Raleigh counties in West Virginia, and Amherst, Smyth and Washington counties in Virginia.
Restoration Estimates
Following field assessments and based on expected continued weather throughout the day, APCo's Storm Response team expects to restore power to 95% of customers impacted by 11 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20.
Storm Response Efforts
APCo planned for outages from this windstorm and is now carrying out its plan to restore electric service safely.
- Teams are assessing damage and assigning crews to restore service on large known outages.
- Company line employees and contractors are working in their own areas or traveling to damaged areas to assist with repairs.
- Mutual assistance crews from surrounding states are arriving today to support restoration efforts.
Weather
- High winds are expected to persist throughout the day and cause additional outages.
Safety Messages
- All downed lines are dangerous — they carry an electric current that can cause serious or even fatal injuries. Stay away to stay alive. If you encounter a fallen wire, keep yourself and others away from it and anything it may be touching, and call 911 and APCo at 1-800-956-4237 immediately.
- If you use a portable or RV generator, do not plug it into your circuit breaker box.
- Additional safety tips are posted at AppalachianPower.com/Safety.
For More Information
Customers can get specific information about the outages affecting their accounts via text message and/or email by subscribing to APCo's Outage Alerts. To sign up, visit AppalachianPower.com/Alerts.
A snapshot view of current outages is available anytime at AppalachianPower.com/OutageMap.
Next Update: Friday, Dec. 19, 4 p.m.