You depend on us to keep the lights on, and we take that responsibility seriously. Our crews are out in your community every day working to improve your electric service. We’ve made great progress, but we know we have more work to do. Here’s an overview of what our teams are doing this year in central Ohio to keep your power flowing.
Overhead circuit and power line inspections
Our field personnel conduct a visual inspection of overhead equipment every five years. This program is designed to proactively spot and address issues before they create a safety issue or an outage.
This year in central Ohio, our crews are well on their way to inspecting 93 circuits covering 993 miles of power lines.
Underground equipment inspections
Our underground power lines are attached to aboveground equipment. The aboveground portions are inspected on a five-year cycle. Like with the overhead equipment, our teams examine these devices to proactively identify and address issues that could create a safety concern or affect the reliability of your electric service.
We’re inspecting 20,033 pieces of equipment in central Ohio this year.
Pole inspections and replacements
We inspect our wood poles every 10 years. The inspections may include performing maintenance treatment to extend each pole’s service life and reinforcing them if needed. Our crews also identify and replace poles that are damaged due to age, weather or insects.
For 2024 in central Ohio, we’re inspecting 11,612 poles and anticipate replacing 438.
Tree trimming
With trees a top cause of power outages, our crews follow a four-year cycle to trim trees and cut brush away from our power lines and equipment. Since we began this program, tree-related outages have decreased by more than 90%.
In 2024, we’ll trim and clear along 983 miles of central Ohio power lines.
The lines on Haughn road near the senior citizen bldg in grove city are almost dragging the ground and have been that way since 2018.so, do you really inspect them like you say you do?
Mary: Yes, we do inspect our equipment regularly; however, I have alerted the operations supervisor in that area so we can investigate. (He suspects they may be communications lines from another utility that have yet to be moved.) Thank you for giving us the heads up!
Hello,
For tree trimming around power lines, is AEP responsible for trimming trees around the above ground power line that runs from the pole and into my house?
Thank you,
John
Good question, John. We don’t trim trees that are near your service drop (the line that runs from our pole to your house). It’s the responsibility of the property owner. With notice, we’ll send a line crew to disconnect this service line for safety. Please contact us at least two business days in advance to have this work performed.
I’ve always wondered why electrical wires are not underground in most cities. It would seem that the instances where storms result in power outages would dramatically decrease when wires are no longer exposed to wind or ice build up in the winter. Often, more affluent communities have the electrical lines buried and enjoy an environment which is uncluttered by overhead poles and wires. This can lead one to surmise whether this is a rich neighborhood vs poorer neighborhood decision that is made and not a practical one. The cost of emergency crews having to respond to downed power lines each time we have a storm and disruption this causes in customer’s lives vs buried wires would almost be a no-brainer. Please explain.
Hi Roman. While the lack of overhead lives may be more aesthetically pleasing, this option is by no means a “no-brainer” in terms of reliability and cost effectiveness. There are many pros and cons for both; for example, when there’s an outage it takes us longer to restore power if the wires are underground versus overhead. It’s also extremely costly to convert established equipment from overhead to underground (which is why newer subdivisions are more likely to opt in for underground wires). Our engineering design team considers many different these factors during construction, and evaluates each job on a case-by-case basis.
Podrías hacer algo con mi cuenta vivo sola y casi no estoy en casa y los recibos no bajan de 147.00 o 150.00 y me habían puesto una cuota fija de 95.00por mes yo sé que todo sube pero les pido de favor si pueden quedar caja de luz de antemano muchas gracias.
Hola Bertha. Entendemos su situación. Por favor habla con nuestros expertos que te pueden ayudar con tu factura. Llama a 800-672-2231.
You stated you have pole inspections. Why not take a look at a couple of poles on Hamilton Road in Gahanna Ohio close to the Vista shopping center. Some of them are really bent to the point of the possibility of coming down from a bad windstorm.
Thanks for alerting us, Mike. I have notified our operations supervisor in that area and we will investigate. Have a great day!
Thank you for sharing information like this. Your communications having to with our service from AEP is appreciated.
Great job on your continued proactive actions AEP!
Neighbors behind me have trees that break off branches and fall in my yard. Would love the have those trees topped off. If these fell on my fence or house it would be terrible, they would take down lines as well
Thanks for notifying us, Marilyn. I have notified our forestry department for follow-up. Have a nice day.
Thank you for keeping the power on! We appreciate your hard work. I have seen your crew hard at work even in the freezing cold weather. We have
many huge trees on our block and understand the need to cut them back.
I still need trees trimmed but they claim that iam not eligble because the were out 2 years before ago so we i think have two more years left
Joe: Yes, we do follow a four-year trimming cycle; however, we will also investigate trees that pose an immediate threat to our lines and equipment. I will pass your comment along to our forestry team. Thanks for letting us know.
What happens if a poll is not on your cycle. Your team seems to wait for the problem to happen than take care of it. Your system only works for preventing issues, it’s a good system but not 100%
John, we try our best to regularly inspect all our equipment as often as possible to ensure it’s working properly. If a customer identifies an issue with our equipment that may pose a safety hazard or could threaten service reliability, we strongly encoutage customers to call us right away at (800) 672-2231 so we can investigate.
They didn’t really trim the trees in this area or my back yard very well! They are still all over the power lines.
I’m sorry to hear this, Patricia. You should hear from a forestry representative soon.
Thank you for your efforts to prevent loss of power in our homes from outside influences.
I am amazed by your relentless work. defying adverse conditions to ensure that the lights are on in our communities.I can’t be more thankful.Keep up the good work.
Thanks for caring so much about your customers that you are constantly improving AEP power for us. This is the time of year when I worry about my power going out–especially my AC. I appreciate your efforts!
Thank you for you helpful information.
I want to thank AEP crews for all their hard work for keeping our electric working🙏🏽
I am concerned about your aggressive tree pruning approach and how this might be impacting the low canopy in some areas. Has AEP considered putting more lines underground (like in Dublin) to ensure that the lights stay on?
Good question, Laura. Yes, we often consider whether or not to put lines underground. Our engineering design team considers a number of factors and there are many pros and cons to both options. In many cases, regular tree trimming is the most effective (and cost effective) way to provide reliable service. We continue to evaluate construction on a case-by-case basis.
Thanks for keeping the power on and running things smoothly. Unfortunately, it is too easy to take these things for granted. Appreciate the improvements – and hard work to maintain.
Thank you. Your crew worked clearing trees near the powerlines in the fall. I was happy to see this. Thank you for sending this type of information out to us. You do care!
Are these above comments for real?
Thank you, AEP for your continued hard work providing electric power services. Special thanks to the AEP crews for restoring power, especially during inclement weather.
Thank you, AEP, for keeping us informed of “everything power” that affects your customers. We do appreciate all of your workers’ efforts in taking care of us.
I’ve seen AEP not replace poles that were complained about…they then soon feel and the business and residential owners were out of luck. AEP acts very arrogantly and is not in touch with the people it serves.
Gary, can you please give us more information about the poles you mention? The quickest way to contact our Customer Solutions team is by calling them directly at 800-672-2231 or messaging them on Facebook or X.
I live on Joos Ave y next door neighbor has 2 big dead trees in her backyard that can fall down at any time your tree tmmers have driven past our house’s several times without stopping and looking but you don’t need to stop they don’t top . With the high taxes, electric bills, and cost of living the normal person can not afford to live.
Thanks for letting us know, Charles. I have made our forestry team aware and they will investigate. Expect to hear from someone about this soon. Have a nice day!
Thank you for your proactive stance with regard to our power lines, tree trimming, etc. We appreciate you!
I want to Thank the hardworking crew at AEP for continuing find new ways for us to keep our electricity running, we don’t stop and think about the jobs that you do on a day to day bases that make our lives better and for us to stay cool. Thanks from my family to yours AEP!!