Earlier his month, Hurricane Beryl blew through the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall on the Gulf Cost. The storm struck Texas and other neighboring states, causing substantial damage and widespread power outages. AEP Ohio crews kicked into gear ahead of the storm and hit the road—leaving their families and loved ones back home—knowing assistance would soon be needed during restoration efforts.
It’s who they are. It’s what they do in times of need. And we couldn’t be more proud.
For two weeks, more than 120 of our lineworkers and support personnel from across Ohio gave support in southeast Texas. Crews began by helping in the Corpus Christi area lending a hand to AEP Texas, one of our sister utility companies at AEP. AEP Ohio employees were among the 4,500 workers deployed to help restore power to more than two million customers across AEP Texas service areas. The AEP Ohio team was later assigned to CenterPoint Energy in Houston, working to fix broken poles and restring wires in hot, humid temperatures that felt like 110 degrees or more.
While restoration crews were deployed in Texas, more employees provided remote support back home in Ohio. They tended to the extensive logistical matters required for restoration, including obtaining materials, coordinating crew assignments and procuring lodging and food.
AEP Ohio partners with other utility providers through a mutual assistance agreement to lend help in the form of crews and resources during times of crisis. In turn, those other utilities assist us in our times of need.
While we’re always ready to support when severe weather is expected, the decision to provide out-of-state assistance requires careful and deliberate planning. AEP Ohio customers remain our top priority, so teams are never deployed outside our service territory until weather forecasts are clear and we can ensure the necessary support is available should severe weather suddenly head our way. Even then, when providing aid to other areas, we send no more than 10% of our field crews at any given time to ensure we can keep the lights on here at home.
Jay Garrett, AEP Ohio’s director of reliability and grid modernization, helped lead our response efforts in Texas. As a former lineworker, Jay has firsthand experience from numerous deployments and deeply understands the challenges they entail.
“We never take the decision to send our employees lightly. We carefully assess the weather projections so we can make an educated decision, particularly knowing that it’s storm season in Ohio,” Garret said. “We’re responsible for our customers in Ohio and are always going to take care of them first. It’s a balance. Restoring power is what we love to do and it’s what we do best, so we always want to be where we’re needed most.”
In recent years, AEP Ohio crews have traveled to various locations, including Florida, Louisiana, Virginia, Maine and even Puerto Rico. They have faced a wide range of weather conditions and worked 16-hour days to support restoration efforts in those areas. Our lineworkers sacrifice a lot in their personal lives to do their jobs, and they take great pride in their profession. They’re ready to drop everything and leave at a moment’s notice to help those who need it most.
“We often come across people who are going through a really tough time. They may have lost everything: their homes, their material possessions, their livelihoods. Getting power back on is one thing we can do to help,” Garrett said. “Despite what they’ve been through, people are incredibly appreciative that we’re there to help. Our employees also find it extremely rewarding to provide a first step in the rebuilding process.”
Welcome back, crews—your families are glad you’re home safe!
Please join us in thanking our crews who traveled to Texas as well as those here at home who worked to keep the lights on in their absence. Leave a comment below.
Thank you so much for leaving your families and working long hours to help people with power outages, downed wires, etc. it is greatly appreciated! God bless you and your family.
Thank you for leaving comfort and family behind and serving others. You do us proud!
Thank each and every one of you for helping me and my family, we all loss power due to the storm. I reside in the Houston area but I currently work in Ohio (temporarily). God bless your sacrifice to be away from your families.
Thank you folks for all you did and the sacrifices you and your loved ones made. I am sure it was much appreciated. I am sure you saved some lives and gave much encouragement to those affected.
Blessings
Thank you for all you do to help others and for making sure we all have heat, cool and lights! We really need light in this world !!! God bless each of you and your loved ones. Thank them for sharing you with all of us.
Love and prayers.
The work all utility workers perform is often overlooked. The time away from your families is another unknown effect of your service. THANK YOU all for your commitment; I need and appreciate your work.
Muchas gracias, amigos! You make Ohio proud by lending a helping hand to our fellow Americanos. We need more of your dedication and kindness throughout the USA.
You guys are fantastic! To work in that kind of heat and deal with so many frustrated customers take a real group of PROs. I grew up in East Texas and truly understand the heat and humidity at this time of year. Been living in Ohio for 20 plus years and been an AEP customer the whole time. You’ve always stepped up when storms happened and we are really grateful for your attention and professionalism to all aspects of running an electric company! Thank you for your service!
A great service to people in need. Thanks!
AEP Workers are Awesome,They go where their needed,And if my power goes off they work really hard to get it back on,Thank You so much for everything you do.
Thank you for your hard work to restore power to those suffering in Texas! Now, rest and cool off!!
My husband works for asplundh tree experts and also gets the call to go out of state to help those in need. With that said I know how hard all of you work and the sacrifices you make to do your jobs. Thank you all for the services you provide and the sacrifices you all make. There should be more people like you guys in the world and it would be a much better place to be if there was more of you.
Thank you!!
I have several friends in TX who were affected and they all thank you too.
Thanks for always being there for everyone.
All of your hard work and Goodwill are to be applauded! Thank you to everyone who traveled down to texas, and all those who remained at home working hard for our power supply. 💪🏼💖💐
AEP Staff,
Been there, done that sometimes isn’t quite appropriate, except when it applies.
I myself, along with my Plumbing Company staff assisted in Hurricane Hugo in Charleston SC and I know what it means to the local people for your service. It certainly warrants a ‘Thank You!’ for your efforts with the most recent impact in Texas..
One Group of True HEROES that help wherever needed. Not all heroes wear capes. Thank you for going the distance and May God Bless You and your families. You make Ohio proud.
Everyone at AEP has been terrific and very giving to others, even those they don’t know. We have family in Houston who lost power during Beryl. We all want to tell you how grateful we are for your work to get their power back up and running. We appreciate you!!!
Thanks for helping those in need. We know it’s a lot to be away from your family. ❤️
Great Team work AEP!! Appreciate your commitment to assist wherever your needed. You guys rock!
You are the frontline of keeping the power on!!! Thanks for all you do. As a front line worker during COVID I know how stressful things can get. 🙌🏻 to you all for leaving your families to help. Much appreciation.
I would just like to thank each and everyone of you who made the sacrifice of leaving your families and loved ones to travel to another state in this great Country of ours and lend a helping hand to those in need! May God continue to Bless you all for your selfless act of kindness!!
This is awesome!!!! To know AEP went to TX to help is proof people still help each other!!!!! I love it. Makes me proud to be a customer is AEP Ohio!!!
Great job! Happy you all are home safe.
Thanks to everyone that went to Texas to help!! You are special to all those you come in contact with.
God bless you and keep you safe!!!
Ohio is a super helping state!! 🙌
Thank you all for giving your time away from home to help those in need in Texas in that heat. I’m sure there were many who appreciated your help especially the elderly and those on life supporting equipment as well as those with infants. Thank you so much for being God’s servants. God Bless you all!
What terrific and hard working crews we are lucky to have here in Ohio! I sure appreciate all of you. When my husband was alive and had to use oxygen, whenever I reported our electric was out they had it restored quickly and called to make sure it was back on. I can’t say enough good things about our guys! God Bless all of you and your families to stay safe out there!
I can’t imagine leaving the comfort of home and volunteering to work in a dangerous environment with HIGH heat & humidity where even you can’t find cool relief; plus facing a frustrated populace. Thank you for your bravery, professionalism & service. Blessings to you all!
My ongoing GRATITUDE for our Columbus AEP team!!! For those of you that traveled all the way to Texas and provided all that hard work, you are absolutely amazing, and above and beyond the BEST!!! My humble but heartfelt thanks to all of you!
Thanks for all you do everyone.
HEROES!!
We have the greatest team with AEP.
Thank you for always stepping up to support any area that is in need.
We often fail to realize you are stepping in harms way when going to help others try to recover. In Ohio I never fear if we have a storm or power outage because AEP crew are immediately on the job working to restore the power.
Thank you for all you sacrifice with leaving families and comforts of home behind to help others!!
Thank you for going the extra mile to help out others in need. You are true heroes!
Thank you to all who helped the folks in Texas. I do not know personally anyone helped,but I know and support many ministries in Texas,so their congregations were affected by the storms. Thankfully,we in SE Ohio have been spared storms,but you were needed elsewhere. Many thanks for sweating thru their heat, while we stayed cool here. God bless you all and safe travels back home.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration and for any assistance in your work on my behalf.
It’s quite impressive that a work-a-day individual can go many extra miles in dangerous endeavors such as electric line service. God bless your physical generosity!
Thank you for all of your time invested into this matter.
Thank you so much for giving your time and talents to help those in need. God Bless You All 😊
Thank you AEP for always going above and beyond to assist not only your Ohio customers but for assisting other States experiencing major outages due to storms.
Thank you AEP Ohio you Guys are awesome! Thank you for always going above and beyond the call of your duties.YOU ARE SO APPRECIATED.!!!
Thank you for all you do to help record power! I worked for an electric cooperative utility and appreciate the work all linemen do. Their jobs are dangerous and they perform them in terrible conditions. Thank you!
Thank you for all your hard work, and the sacrifice of your own physical comfort. A very special Thank You to your families, who have to handle whatever comes up while you are gone ! Whether it is managing a home, taking care of the cohabitating wildlife [AKA children 🥰], or a grocery run, that missed set of hands and support makes each day very difficult. I appreciate all the sacrifices made to lift other people up when they need it so much. Real Superheroes are very tired, and usually very dirty ❣️
Thank you for your exceptional customer service to the people of Texas…. You make all Ohioans proud! Glad you are all back safe & sound.
Thanks for all you do!!!!
I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU AT AEP FOR WHAT YOU DO FOR ALL OF US THANK YOU ALL
Thank you AEP for your assistance when needed! You are most appreciated!
Thankyou so much!!!!!
What a wonderful community of workers you belong to. Each willing on a moments notice to leave their family and their lives to go help others during a disaster. Great thanks to you for your dedication and sacrifice. Also, I am grateful as well for how quickly you’ve responded when we have had outages in the area where I live.
We don’t tend to think about everything we need electricity for- until we don’t have it. Your work is dangerous & in all kind of weather. This takes a special kind of person & a strong family support. Saying thank you doesn’t seem big enough. God bless you and your families.
We had a car hit a pole so hard it broke . I know how excited the neighborhood was to see those AEP trucks roll in. I can’t imagine the impact these workers made when they arrived at the disaster area!
Thanks to every one of you who put yourself and your family on the line to do such important work!!!!
God bless you all for being so selfless, and helping those in need, when you could have easily said no. You’re a great representation of what loving your fellow brother means…and you make Ohio proud!
Thank you for being there to restore power for customers wherever they live. We appreciate your long hours of hard work and willingness to respond when called. Thanks to your families, too.
Thank you for all you do for not only Ohio but all Americans in need as needed. A sincere thank you to you all and your families for your sacrifice.
Thank ya’ll so much for what you guys did to help all them people you guys have a big heart ❤️
Thanks guys and gals for all your hard work and extra efforts. Keeping the juice flowing for the patriots in Texas was a crucial task, and you have earned the gratitude of many, including your customers in Ohio.
Thanks so much for going above and beyond normal job requirements, something most of the rest of us never have to consider doing. You are one of the best examples of humanity and kindness in our country, and I’m especially glad that AEP thought to inform their customers of the generous efforts performed by their loyal employees, so that we can express our appreciation. Job well done!
Thank you AEP Ohio. I hope my grandson saw your trucks while you were in Texas, and see how selfless you were in helping others. Thank you
I applaud these AEP employees for going to Texas to help others. Seeing on TV how dire the situation was, help was necessary. God Bless all of you.
Having moved from Texas to Ohio, I thank you so much for your willingness to go there and help them out. 💛😀💛
So proud of you all working to save lives and give comfort back to those without electricity.
Thank you for “going the extra miles” to ensure the safety of people and the restoration of services to people in very difficult circumstances.
Thank you Ohio crew for helping those in TX & other states to have power. Thank you for helping us to have electricity too. We take it for granted until the power goes out. You are appreciated.
Thank you for your sacrifice for helping others
Thank you for your continued commitment and service to keep the power on for us at home and for those who need extra help with outages in other states!
Thank you so very much for your hard work in helping to keep power restored
Thank you for helping! It’s very much appreciated! ❤️ O – H !!
To the ADP crews, I am honored to know that you heroically helped the people of Texas and with that, the electric lines. Thank you for leaving your own family to help those in need. God does have a special place in heaven for you.
Being permanent residents of Florida now and summer residents in our original state of Ohio, we have seen first hand the great work of the AEP workers when they have been deployed out of state to storm sites. We sincerely appreciate their dedication and sense of duty.
Thank you AEP linemen and support personnel! We love you and appreciate all that you do for us here in Ohio and out of state 🫶
Thank you for all you do!!!
Y’all are awesome and are true heroes! Thank you for all that y’all do, not just now but all the time, my hats off to y’all. Each of you put your lives on the line everyday, leave your families to go wherever you are needed and whenever you are needed while most of us are at home in a cool or warm home. Again thank you for your service and God bless each of you.
Thank you so much for helping others in an extreme time of need!!
“Do unto others…”
May God richly bless you and keep you safe as you continue to serve others, especially in times of distress.
Thank you!
Thank you! My daughter lives in Conroe TX. She had family without power for a time. All the extra help made it possible for service to be restored faster.
May you and your family be blessed just as you blessed others.
You guys are my heroes. Always there to stand by when power goes out. Thank you for giving of yourself and your time to help others.
Thank you AEP for being a LIGHT to all
All of you are pretty Amazing!!! thank you for all that you do !!! Stay safe and God Bless!!
That is a long hard and hot job. I’ve worked heavy highway for years and retired for now. I’d go volunteer my time if needed. Tech you for everything you do to keep us comfortable on this earth.
THANK YOU ALL for spending time in Texas helping restore power to those affected by Beryl. Your dedication is appreciated!
Thanks to all of you who respond to our electrical emergencies here in Ohio and elsewhere; you who work in a varying weather conditions (i pray for your wellbeing especially during freezing and very hot temperatures) and doing dangerous and physically demanding work. Whenever i see an AEP crew in the field, my thoughts are of gratitude to such hardworking and courageous people.
Thank you to all of the Ohio AEP workers who helped restore power to the residents of Texas during a very hot time. We prayed for the entire team’s safety and especially our AEP friends Tyler Emmelhainz and Jacob Stevens who were away from their families for those two weeks. God kept everyone safe and we are grateful.
Earl and Janelle Sagraves
All of are to be commended for helping those in need!! The AEP crews are experts at what they do, professional in dealing with dangerous situations, and brave. Glad to be an AEP customer.
Thank you for taking great care of our electrical needs here in Ohio, and beyond when and where needed! We do indeed appreciate all you technicians do to keep us safe and comfortable.
Bless you all!
We had a partial outage in a condo building of 4 units and called AEP in late evening. By 1:00 AM our power was repaired. It is such a relief to have folks that do this dangerous work efficiently – even in the dark of night! The repairman’s hat gave good light for the job – a row of lights all around the rim. There was no problem knowing where he was – it was fun to watch. I very much appreciate their work.
Es una verdadera bendición tener gente tan dedicada a su trabajo como lo asen estos chicos de aep. Que su esfuerzo y desempeño sea ejemplo a seguir por nuevos candidatos Dios los bendiga siempre a todos
Thank you for all you do for those in need; your service is well appreciated!