SITUATION
Statewide Outages: Approximately 2,550 line tree, contractor, assessor and support personnel are working to restore power to AEP Ohio customers after severe storms earlier this week. Lighting and winds in excess of 75 miles per hour brought down more than 200 poles and 1,600 spans of wire across our service territory.
At Tuesday’s 8 p.m. peak, nearly 250,000 customers across the state were without power, including 170,000 in central Ohio. Restoration efforts have reduced that number to 49,000 statewide and 87,000 in Columbus.
Columbus Area Outages: Storms caused significant damage to some of the high voltage transmission lines that feed power to the Columbus area. Combined with impacts from the heat, some of the remaining transmission lines became overloaded, requiring emergency outages to protect the electric system. While crews continue to make progress on repairs, due to continued extreme temperatures, the electrical system will remain stressed until the damaged lines are returned to operation. Some customers affected by yesterday’s outages are experiencing new outages today as a result of power lines becoming overloaded again.
We are asking customers to please reduce any unnecessary electric usage between the peak hours of noon and 7 p.m. We also strongly encourage all customers to have backup accommodations for their safety and well-being in the event of any further outages.
RESTORATION UPDATES
Central Ohio
- Northeast Columbus – 11:59 p.m. Thursday
- Northwest Columbus – 11:59 p.m. Thursday
- Southeast Columbus – 11:59 p.m. Thursday
- Southwest Columbus – 11:59 p.m. Thursday
- Delaware – 3:30 p.m. today
Southeastern Ohio
- Athens – 3 p.m. today
- Marietta – 5 p.m. Thursday
- McConnelsville – 5 p.m. Thursday
- Pomeroy – 11:59 p.m. Thursday
Southern Ohio
- Chillicothe – Noon Friday
- Lucasville – Noon Friday
- Wellston – Noon Friday
Eastern Ohio
- Belmont – 11 p.m. Friday
- Coshocton – 11 p.m. Saturday
- Mt. Vernon – 11:59 p.m. Friday
- Newark – 11:59 p.m. Thursday
- Zanesville – 4 p.m. Friday
Northeast Ohio
- Steubenville – 10 p.m. Thursday
- New Philadelphia – 11 p.m. Saturday
- Wooster – 4 p.m. Saturday
Northwest Ohio
- Bucyrus – 10 p.m. Thursday
- Findlay – 4 p.m. Thursday
- Kenton – 3 p.m. today
- Tiffin – 10 p.m. today
- Van Wert – 3 p.m. today
RESTORATION PROCESS
Essential services such as hospitals, fire and police stations and water treatment plants are our top priority. Damaged main lines are also being repaired to restore power to the largest number of customers. Crews then work to energize clusters of homes and businesses.
Once the main lines have been restored, crews then focus on restoring power to individual homes and businesses. This step often takes the most time as each repair affects only a few customers.
Read here for more about our restoration process.
DAMAGE & REPAIRS
Homeowners are responsible for electrical equipment attached to their house. If any equipment was damaged during the windstorm, it’s important to contact a licensed electrician to make repairs before AEP Ohio can safely restore power.
Learn more about the responsibilities of a property owner and AEP Ohio here.
STAY CONNECTED
Updated restoration times will be shared as soon as they are available. Customers can receive the latest alerts and information by:
SAFETY REMINDERS
- Never touch any downed wires or anything they may be touching. Please call us or 911 to report wires down.
- Please refrain from clearing tree debris from roadways as energized downed wires may be hidden under the vegetation.
- Do not attempt to remove tree limbs or debris within 10 feet of a power line.
- Stay away from any downed wires and report any hazards through the AEP Ohio mobile app, call 911 or AEP Ohio at (800) 672-2231.
- For the health and safety of AEP Ohio crews, please stay at least 6 feet away from our employees, vehicles and equipment.
- Limbs, leaves and other objects moved by the wind could hide downed wires. Investigate your surroundings before trying to clean up any debris.
- Notify AEP Ohio if you’re using a generator. This protects you and our lineworkers as they work to restore power.
- Unplug major appliances to protect them when power is restored.