Lights Coming Back On Around the Ohio Valley After High Wind
Alan Olson Trending
WHEELING - Power company crews were hard at work between Saturday and Sunday in Ohio and Marshall counties, restoring power by Sunday night to most of those who lost it over the weekend - though some could be waiting days before the lights come back on.
As of 8 p.m. Sunday night, there were 2,074 customers in Appalachian Power's Northern Panhandle coverage area that were still in the dark - but that was down from the more than 7,000 that were without power Saturday night.
Appalachian Power, a subsidiary of American Electric Power, attributes the outages to high winds causing "significant tree-related damage" to electrical infrastructure Saturday afternoon and evening. More than 58,000 people were said to have lost power as a result, with West Virginia bearing the brunt of the damage, with an estimated 23,000 customers still without power across the Mountain State, and more affected in Virginia.
There were 92 outage cases ongoing as of Sunday night in Ohio and Marshall counties, according to AEP's outage map. Appalachian Power said more than 1,000 crew members - including 600 line workers, 250 tree removal workers and 150 damage assessors - were hard at work identifying and repairing damage across their service area. Good weather Sunday was expected to make the restoration process easier, as well as the presence of repair crews from outside the Ohio Valley now available to assist.
"They've been pretty quick about it – the event happened (Saturday) and already they've picked up more than 2,500 customers," said Joelle Moray, external affairs manager for Appalachian Power. "That's a pretty valiant effort, considering the extra help hadn't even arrived yet."
Appalachian Power reports that power is expected to be fully restored to the worst-hit areas - Ohio and Marshall counties, as well as Cabell, Jackson, Lincoln, Mason, Putnam and Wayne counties - by Tuesday, though most customers are expected to have power restored before that time. Customers are encouraged to use Appalachian Power's outage map or sign up for alerts for more immediate updates.
Additionally, power is expected to be restored to Clay, Fayette, Kanawha, Logan and Mingo counties by Monday evening, and to other parts of West Virginia and Virginia by Sunday night.
Moray said that efforts to restore power first prioritize public safety - such as hospitals - and then focus on restoring power to the largest number of customers at a time. While repair efforts are ongoing, Moray urged people to be aware of downed lines, which may still be live, posing a danger to passers-by and pets.
"If you come across a downed line or tree, assume that area is energized and stay away from it, and call it in either to AEP or to 911, and keep small children and pets away from it."
The majority of people still without power in AEP coverage areas as of Sunday night was in the Charleston area. There, 5,465 customers were without power via 257 separate outage cases.