CHARLESTON, W.Va., November 5, 2012 – Most of the Appalachian Power customers who remain without power will be restored by tonight, however isolated areas where damage was most severe may not be restored until tomorrow. Parts of Fayette, Raleigh and Wyoming counties are still without power after Hurricane Sandy.
Appalachian Power also warns that following a large storm, the company’s infrastructure can become compromised and new outages are possible in some areas because of wind, hanging limbs or other weather related issues. Customers should report all power outages immediately at AppalachianPower.com or 1-800-982-4237.
“In the final days of a large restoration effort, crews are usually handling many single outage cases and addressing new outages that occur related to storm damage. Crews will continue to clear up these outages until all work is complete,” said Phil Wright, vice president distribution operations. There are more than 57 outages affecting only one customer and each outage requires individual attention. More than 350 line workers and 300 tree trimmers are working in areas where outages exist.
Company officials are preparing for the next step in the Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts. Once crews complete restoration in Appalachian Power’s territory, many will be shifted to heavily-damaged areas in the North.
“Appalachian Power will assist other power companies who are working to restore power to millions of customers. They have come to our aid twice just this year and we are returning the favor,” Wright said.
Customer outages peaked at 182,000 on Tuesday, October 30, with most of them occurring in West Virginia. Ninety-five percent of customers were restored by yesterday afternoon.
“We are grateful for the patience that our customers continue to show,” Wright said. “Our crews were aided in their work by the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security and the West Virginia National Guard. We’re very appreciative of the teamwork that has developed following these large storms,” Wright said.
Appalachian Power has 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, which delivers electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined.
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