Appalachian Power shares restoration estimates

UPDATE 2:58 P.M. 9/29/2024 — Appalachian Power restored power to 43% of customers by 1 p.m. Sunday. They say 113,600 people in Virginia are still without power.

As crews finish restoration in West Virginia, those workers will move into Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee, the company says. Restoration estimates below are still accurate and Appalachian Power believes most customers will have power returned before then.

UPDATE 7:05 P.M. 9/28/2024 — Appalachian Power is providing restoration estimates for areas still without power.

• Sunday, Sept. 29, 11 p.m. for most customers in West Virginia.
• Monday, Sept. 30, 11 p.m. for the areas of Christiansburg, Fieldale, Stuart, Pulaski, and Rocky Mount, Va.
• Tuesday, Oct. 1, 4 p.m. for Roanoke, Va. area.
• Tuesday, Oct. 1, 11 p.m. for Kingsport, Tenn., and the areas of Bluefield, Glade Spring, Glen Lyn, Grundy, Floyd, Lebanon, Tazewell, Woodlawn and Wytheville, Va.
• Most customers without service will have power restored before the above estimates. Customers are encouraged to view the company’s outage map or sign up for outage alerts for information on their specific outage.
• Restoration may extend further in isolated instances where extensive repairs are needed.

UPDATE 2:28 P.M. 9/28/2024 — Appalachian Power provided an update on storm response Saturday after Helene hit Southwest Virginia.

214,500 customers were still without power across AppCo’s coverage area Saturday at 1:45 p.m. 145,000 people in Virginia are still without power. They expect power to be restored for most customers by Sunday evening.

They say more than 2,500 workers are working to assess damage, clean up, make repairs, and restore power. Another 1,000 crewmembers are expected to join the effort Sunday morning. Extra teams from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Oklahoma and Texas are working throughout Appalachian Power’s area.

Appalachian Power has lifted the Potential Failure for Byllesby/Buck Hydro Electric Facility. They expect it will take several days before facilities and rivers return to normal levels.

Appalachian Power shared the following information:

Safety Message

• High winds bring down power lines. 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 wires and anything the lines may touch and immediately call 911 and Appalachian Power at 1-800-956-4237.
• Customers without power who are on life support systems or need uninterrupted electric service for health reasons should make alternate arrangements.
• Do not plug a generator into your circuit box using a portable or RV generator.
• Flooding occurred in many areas throughout our service territory. Be cautious, and remember to turn around; don’t drown.
• Find additional safety tips at AppalachianPower.com/Safety .

When to Call an Electrician

• Appalachian Power cannot connect power to a home or business if there is damage to the service entrance, which the customer owns.
• Customers need a qualified electrician to repair this damage before power can be restored. The service entrance includes the metal box housing Appalachian Power’s meter, the “weatherhead” pipe on top of the meter box, the service entrance cables running from the weatherhead through the meter box to the inside panel box, and other related facilities. Similar responsibilities apply to underground service.
• After repairs are made, contact Appalachian Power to have power restored.

For More Information

Customers can subscribe to Appalachian Power outage alerts to receive specific information about outages affecting their accounts via text message and/or email. To sign up, please visit Appalachian Power alerts .

A snapshot of current outages is available anytime by visiting Appalachian Power’s Outage Map .

ROANOKE, Va. ( WFXR ) – Severe weather conditions in the region have resulted in widespread power outages affecting thousands across Southwest and Central Virginia.

AEP says there are currently 163,000 customers affected in the State of Virginia.

Crews with AEP are busy working to assess and restore service to many of the damaged areas. There are varying response times from the early afternoon to the evening on Friday, September 27.

Storm Response Efforts

• Currently, more than 1,000 employees and contractors are dedicated to storm restoration work.
• Mutual assistance crews from Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan are either in our service territory now or headed this way. Crews from Oklahoma and Texas are expected to arrive tomorrow.
• Appalachian Power planned for outages from this storm by having all employees and business partners on alert and prepared to work.
• Continued rain and gusty winds will significantly delay restoration efforts to customers.
• At this time, restoration work is expected to go into Sunday, with lesser impacted areas getting their power restored before then. Depending on the storm’s impact, restoration times may extend beyond Sunday.

Heavy rain and strong, gusty winds from Hurricane Helene are expected to continue throughout the day, impacting restoration efforts and increasing outage numbers in some areas. Our crews will continue to work as quickly and safely as possible.

For more information on affected areas and resolution times, you can visit the AEP outage map .

The following areas are currently experiencing power outages:

• Amherst – 1,314
• Appomattox – 0
• Bedford – 6,888
• Bland – 3,948
• Botetourt – 2,428
• Buchanan – 3,886
• Campbell – 56
• Carroll – 16,491
• Craig – 1,021
• Danville – 0
• Floyd – 4,265
• Franklin – 3,566
• Galax – 3,815
• Giles – 2,864
• Grayson – 10,718
• Henry – 748
• Lynchburg – 9
• Martinsville – 0
• Montgomery – 4,308
• Nelson – 456
• Patrick – 3,295
• Pittsylvania – 20
• Pulaski – 2,481
• Radford – 7
• Roanoke County – 10,884
• Roanoke City – 6,981
• Salem – 0
• Wythe – 10,006

Weather

How Customers Can Prepare

• Plan in the event a power outage occurs. Check with those who are elderly, have young children, or have medical conditions to ensure they have a plan — and don’t forget your pets.
• Charge devices such as phones, laptops, portable chargers, and other electronics that will help you stay connected.
• Prepare an emergency kit. At a minimum, include non-perishable food, water, a flashlight, batteries, a battery-powered radio, a first-aid kit, and necessary medications.

Safety Message

• Windstorms cause damage that can bring down power lines. 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 and call 911 and Appalachian Power at 1-800-956-4237 immediately.
• Do not plug the generator into your circuit box using a portable or RV generator.
• Flooding is expected in many areas throughout our service territory. Be cautious and remember to turn around; don’t drown.
• Find additional safety tips at AppalachianPower.com/Safety .

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