Appalachian Power Storm Response Update
Tuesday, March 27, 2018 – 11:30 a.m.
Situation
More than 1,600 workers are now on the ground in southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia to restore electric service after Saturday’s winter storm. Although the snow is melting rapidly, the damage it caused remains. In hundreds of locations, falling trees have brought down power poles and lines.
Appalachian Power crews expect to make great strides today to restore electricity. Significant progress was made on Monday and Tuesday with service restored to more than half of the customers who lost power in the storm. At its peak, more than 90,000 customers were without power as heavy, wet snow (in some locations as much as 15”) impacted the region.
Today’s weather calls for light rain and mild temperatures, which will help in restoration efforts. Later in the week, rain is expected to increase, which may hinder restoration.
Outages
Nearly 34,000 customers are currently without power. Most of those customers, around 31,000, are in Virginia. Areas of Virginia with large numbers of customers affected by the storms include:
| Counties | # of Customers Out |
| Bland | 2,132 |
| Carroll | 470 |
| Floyd | 1,580 |
| Franklin | 798 |
| Giles | 2,957 |
| Henry | 1,120 |
| Montgomery | 8,130 |
| Patrick | 607 |
| Pulaski | 7,031 |
| Wythe | 6,255 |
In West Virginia, about 2,300 customers are without power, with the largest concentration of customer outages in:
| Counties | # of Customers Out |
| McDowell | 598 |
| Mercer | 1,309 |
| Wyoming | 83 |
Storm Restoration Efforts
More than 1,600 workers, including line employees, tree crews and contractors, are working to restore electric service.
Service has been restored to all stations and main lines and workers are now focusing on smaller outages that affect fewer customers.
Restoration Estimates
Most customers are expected to be restored according to the estimated times below. In isolated instances where damage is most severe, restoration could extended beyond these estimated times.
In Virginia, areas with estimated restoration dates/times are:
Today by midnight
Henry County
Franklin County
Patrick County
Wednesday by midnight
Carroll County
Floyd County
Thursday by midnight
Bland County
Giles County
Montgomery County
Pulaski County
Wythe County
In West Virginia, areas with estimated restoration dates/times are:
Today by midnight
McDowell County
Wyoming County
Wednesday by midnight
Mercer County
Customers should check the company’s outage map or sign up for mobile alerts to see more specific restoration times for individual homes and businesses.
Safety Message
Refuel heaters, lamps, and generators outside, and stay away from any flames or sparks. Wipe up fuel spills immediately. Additional safety tips are posted at https://www.appalachianpower.com/outages/faq/OutageSafetyTips.aspx.
For More Information
Customers who do not have power may check for an updated restoration time and other information by:
- Going to the outage map atwww.AppalachianPower.com/outagemap
- Downloading the AEP mobile app in Apple’s App Store or the Google Play store.
- Signing up for outage alerts atwww.appalachianpower.com/account/alerts/
- Calling the Appalachian Power customer center at 1-800-956-4237
A snapshot view of current outages is available at www.appalachianpower.com/outagemap.
March 27, 2018 @ 2:56 pm
Even though my power has not been restored in case knife Ridge Road I understand they’re working hard and I am being patient waiting on them to restore our power but what I’m more disappointed in is the state department cleaning the snow in the trees off the road they have not one time came up on our mountain neighbors and I had clear trees and snow for two days just to get out oh I forgot we live on the wrong side of the tracks
March 28, 2018 @ 8:21 am
I understand this is a massive outage, but we live off Robinson Tract and have yet to see the first APCO truck in the area between here and town. What’s up with that? It’s been since Saturday 8:30pm that power has been out. 84 hours and counting.