Situation
Appalachian Power crews have restored service to 55,300 customers since storms first moved through the company’s service territory Monday, even as additional rounds of severe weather and high wind gusts continued to impact the region. Since the storm system peaked at more than 28,000 customers without power Monday evening, crews have worked around the clock restoring 79% of affected customers to date.
The most heavily affected areas remain the greater Charleston area in West Virginia.
Outages
Crews made steady progress overnight, reducing the number of customers without power after multiple rounds of severe weather caused widespread damage across Appalachian Power’s service territory. Approximately 13,300 customers remain without electric service in West Virginia, where outages are scattered across the state. The Charleston, Hamlin and Wayne areas have experienced some of the most significant storm damage. In Virginia, about 1,700 customers remain without power, with the highest outage concentrations in the Clintwood, Lynchburg and Roanoke areas.
Storm Response Efforts
Despite additional damaging wind gusts and heavy rain moving through the region, workers continued making progress restoring service in difficult conditions. Crews are working through storm-damaged areas where fallen trees, blocked roads and flooding, have made access more challenging and repairs more complex.
All available workers remain dedicated to service restoration and have been strategically positioned to restore power as safely and quickly as possible. As crews complete repairs and return service to an area, they are reassigned to other locations where damage remains and additional support is needed.
Consistent with standard storm restoration protocol, crews first focus on critical infrastructure that communities rely on, including hospitals, 911 centers and water treatment facilities. They then move to repairs that can restore service to the largest number of customers in the shortest amount of time before addressing smaller outage pockets and individual homes and businesses that may require more localized repairs.
Weather Conditions
Appalachian Power continues to monitor weather conditions. There is a continued threat for more severe weather to impact the region with the chance of scattered storms hitting the region this afternoon and evening.
Safety
Customers should treat all downed lines as live power lines and stay away from them. Never touch downed power lines or sparking equipment. Keep children and pets away from fallen lines and anything the lines may touch.
Additional safety tips are available at AppalachianPower.com/Safety.
Estimated Times of Restoration (ETRs)
Appalachian Power crews will continue working throughout the day to restore service to customers impacted by the storms. The Storm Response Team expects 90% of affected customers to have power restored by 11:59 p.m. today, Wednesday, Aug. 12.
For More Information
Customers can get specific information about the outages affecting their accounts via text message and/or email by subscribing to Appalachian Power's Outage Alerts. To sign up, visit AppalachianPower.com/Alerts.
A snapshot view of current outages is available anytime by visiting Appalachian Power's Outage Map.
Next Update: Wednesday, Aug. 12, 4 p.m.