Appalachian Power Storm Response Update

Thursday, March 29, 2018 – 12:30 p.m.

Situation

Workers and contractors are completing repairs to electrical facilities after a snow storm hit southwestern Virginia on March 24-25. A majority of customers that were affected have had power restored, but work is still ongoing in counties that were hit hardest by the storm.

As of this morning, about 4,000 customers are without power, which is down from a peak of 90,000 total from the storm. Most of the remaining outages are in Montgomery, Pulaski and Wythe counties.

The remaining repairs to service are outages that affect small numbers of customers. Each repair may only restore power to a handful of customers, rather than getting thousands of customers back online with one repair. However, more than 1,700 workers remain dedicated to the restoration effort.

The forecast calls for sunny weather today and then rain tonight, which could be heavy at times and may hamper restoration efforts.

Outages

About 4,000 customers are currently without power in Virginia.

Areas of Virginia with large numbers of customers affected by the storms include:

Counties # of Customers Out
Montgomery 1,179
Pulaski 1,285
Wythe 721

 

Storm Restoration Efforts

More than 1,700 workers, including line employees, tree crews and contractors, are working to restore electric service.

Crews are concentrating on more heavily damaged areas and repairing the remaining outages, which each affect small numbers of customers.

Power lines do not necessarily follow along roads to neighborhoods. Houses on the same street or road may be served by different lines. Customers whose service is still out, but whose neighbors now have power, should re-report their outage.

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 extend beyond these estimated times.

Areas in Virginia with estimated restoration dates/times are:

Today by midnight

Bland County
Giles County
Montgomery County
Pulaski County
Wythe County

Appalachian Power will post updated restoration estimates for customers who may remain out until Friday. Customers should check the company’s outage map or sign up for mobile alerts to see those updated estimates.

Safety Message

Let us know if you’re using a generator – this protects you and our line workers as they work to restore power. 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 updated restoration times and other information by:

A snapshot view of current outages is available at www.appalachianpower.com/outagemap.

Next Update:  This is the final update for this storm.