Appalachian Power says it may be Friday evening before power is restored to Lynchburg-area customers who lost service during yesterday’s storm. Teresa Hall with AEP says about 19,000 customers are currently without power.
She says since much of the region is experiencing similar problems, Appalachian Power has brought in nearly 500 additional crews from as far away as Ohio to help with restoration efforts.
Here is the entire news release from Appalachian Power:
Situation
Yesterday morning as much as eight inches of heavy, wet snow fell across Appalachian Power’s Virginia service area, causing damage that left more than 45,000 customers without electric service.
Outages
More than half of the customers who lost power as a result of the storm have had service restored.
Around 19,000 customers are currently without electric service.
The majority of storm-related outages are in areas that saw significant accumulation of heavy wet snow.
Counties with the most customer outages related to storm damage include:
Amherst, 4,010
Albemarle, 2,948
Bedford, 2,277
Franklin, 1,982
City of Lynchburg, 1,862
Nelson, 1,759
Henry, 1,345
Storm Response Efforts
Nearly 500 employees and contractors from across Appalachian Power’s service are working to restore electric service.
Additional crews have been secured from Ohio, as neighboring utilities are also dealing with significant restoration efforts.
Damage assessment is ongoing, and some of that is taking place using drones and helicopters.
Workers are repairing damage on outages affecting large numbers of customers.
Employees are observing COVID-19 safety precautions as they go about restoring service in order to protect themselves, our customers and the public.
Restoration Estimates
Most customers with outages related to the storm should have service restored before or by the following times:
- Wednesday night: Floyd, Giles and Montgomery counties
- Thursday afternoon: Botetourt, Franklin and Roanoke counties, as well as the City of Roanoke
- Thursday night: Henry, Patrick counties
- Friday evening: Albemarle, Amherst, Bedford, Nelson counties and the City of Lynchburg
Weather
Although workers in some cases are encountering poor road conditions, the weather outlook is favorable for service restoration.
Safety Messages
Heavy snow can cause fallen trees and downed 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.
Please protect yourself and our employees and contractors by not approaching them as they work to restore power. Maintaining social distancing is the best way you can help our crews.
Additional safety tips are posted at https://www.appalachianpower.com/safety/
Earlier: Appalachian Power officials say roughly 20,000 customers in Lynchburg, Lovingston, and Rocky Mount were without power at the height of yesterday’s storm.
Here’s our conversation with AEP’s Teresa Hall: