Appalachian Power Storm Response Update #32
Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024 – 9:15 a.m.
Situation
Within seven days, Appalachian Power restored power to over 98% of its 282,000 customers impacted by Hurricane Helene. Thousands of workers continue to rebuild the power grid and restore service in the hardest-hit areas of Gate City; Glade Spring; Grundy; Lebanon and Tazewell, Va.; and Bluefield, W.Va. Workers have found over 215 miles of fallen wire to replace, over 1,450 poles to rebuild and 440 damaged transformers. As of 9:15 a.m. Saturday, 4,500 customers remain without power.
Outages & Damages
• Less than 400 unique locations across Southern Virginia and Southern West Virginia need repairs.
• Crews have restored power to over 98%, or 277,500, customers since the peak of 282,000 on Friday.
• About 3,500 affected customers are in Virginia, and 1,000 are without service in West Virginia.
Storm Response Efforts
• Appalachian Power planned for outages from this storm by having all employees and business partners on alert and prepared to work.
• A workforce of 7,360 employees and contractors remain dedicated to storm restoration work, including mutual assistance crews from 30 states as far as Nebraska.
• Thousands of workers are rebuilding the power grid in the hardest-hit areas, including Gate City; Glade Spring; Grundy; Lebanon and Tazewell, Va.; and Bluefield, W.Va.
Restoration Estimates
• All remaining impacted customers in Gate City; Glade Spring; Lebanon and Tazewell, Va.; and Bluefield, W.Va., will have power restored by 11 p.m. today, Oct. 5.
• Customers are encouraged to view the company's outage map or sign up for outage alerts for information on their specific outage.
Weather
Weather is favorable for rebuilding the energy grid and restoring power.
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.
• Be aware of scammers and remember that Appalachian Power will never request upfront payment or a reconnection fee in return for restoring your service.
• Follow all recommended precautions if using a personal generator. Never use a generator inside a home, garage, crawl space, other enclosed areas, or anywhere else where exhaust fumes can enter enclosed spaces. Never connect a generator to a home's circuits. Plug appliances directly into the generator.
• 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.