UPDATE – 3 p.m. Monday
Below are the worst outage areas in our region among the 51,842 Appalachian Power customers in Virginia without power:
- Amherst County – 430
- Bedford County – 1,026
- Bland County – 370
- Botetourt County – 52
- Campbell County – 148
- Carroll County – 200
- Floyd County – 22
- Franklin County – 15
- Giles County – 2,883
- Grayson County – 111
- Henry County – 122
- Lynchburg – 297
- Montgomery County – 537
- Pulaski County – 2,962
- Roanoke County – 1,098
- Roanoke City – 564
- Wythe County – 1,160
Beginning at 12 p.m. Monday, charging and cooling stations will be opening at the Narrows Fire Department Activity Building at 133 Center Street in Narrows, and at Giles Lifesaving and Rescue Squad located at 175 Industrial Park Dr. in Pearisburg.
10:30 p.m. Update Sunday
More than 100,000 Appalachian Power customers are without service after severe thunderstorms swept across the company’s service territory. Damage to the company’s distribution and transmission equipment is the result of heavy rain and high winds that downed trees and power lines. Additional outages could occur as storm activity continues this evening and into tomorrow, and the company has requested external resources to assist with restoration.
Outages
· Currently, about 106,000 customers are without power.
- More than 60,000 customers are without power in West Virginia. The hardest hit counties in terms of outages include: Fayette (11,680); Logan (7,400); Raleigh (6,700); Kanawha (4,600); and Mercer (4,400).
- About 46,000 customers are without electric service in Virginia. The counties with the most outages include Pulaski (8,250); Giles (7,260); Roanoke (6,550); Wythe (3,100); and Russell (2,900).
Storm Response Efforts
- Appalachian Power planned for outages from this storm by having all employees and business partners on alert and prepared to work.
- The company has requested an additional 1,000-plus storm response workers to aid with restoration.
- Where they can safely do so, Appalachian Power crews are working to restore power on large known outages.
Restoration Estimates
- Employees have begun assessing the damage left by today’s storm.
- In Virginia and Tennessee, Appalachian Power anticipates having service restored to approximately 90 percent of affected customers by 11 p.m., Tuesday, May 28. Areas with less damage will likely be restored earlier.
- In West Virginia, the company anticipates having service restored to approximately 90 percent of affected customers in the company’s hardest hit areas by 11 p.m., Wednesday, May 29. Areas with less damage can expect to have power restored earlier.
- Most customers currently without service will have power restored before the overall estimate. Restoration may extend further in isolated instances where extensive repairs are needed.
- Customers are encouraged to view the company’s outage map or sign up for outage alerts for information on their specific outage.
- Additional severe weather and associated outages are expected tonight and into Monday, which could hamper restoration efforts, cause additional outages and extend restoration estimates.
Weather
- Additional heavy rain and high winds are possible overnight and into tomorrow, which may create additional outages.
8:30 p.m. Update Sunday
More than 25,000 people are without power according to Appalachian Power. Most of the outages are in Wythe, Pulaski, Giles, Roanoke, Bedford and Campbell Counties. It’s not known when power will be restored.
Check back for updates.
7:00 p.m. Update Sunday
Thousands of customers are without power as storms rolled through on Sunday evening.
According to Appalachian Power’s website, over 7,000 customers in Giles County are without power.
Below is a breakdown of the worst outages in our region, organized by county/city as of Sunday, May 26 at about 6:45 p.m., according to Appalachian Power.
- Giles County: 7,221
- Wythe County: 2,893
- Pulaski County: 9,898
- Roanoke County: 3,143
- Roanoke City: 614
- Botetourt County: 121
- Montgomery County: 692
- Bland County: 1,850
Get updates or report an outage on Appalachian Power’s website.
We will continue to update this article as information becomes readily available.
Source: WSLS News 10