Weather reports early in the week of June 13 looked worrisome, with severe storms forecasted Monday and extreme heat predicted later in the week. We were prepared for the possibility of power outages — what we didn’t expect was AEP Ohio’s biggest weather event in the past 10 years. Lightning and straight-line winds nearing 75 miles per hour crossed the state that Monday night, toppling trees and power lines. Within the first 12 hours more than 155,000 customers lost power, particularly in the southern and eastern parts of Ohio. 

The storm also caused significant damage to some high-voltage transmission lines that feed power to the Columbus area. As temperatures climbed into the 90s and demand for energy grew, some transmission lines quickly ended up being operated above their normal capacity, requiring immediate emergency forced outages for those served by those lines.  By Tuesday evening, 170,000 customers in the Columbus area were without power, bringing the total number of customers out to nearly 250,000.

Restoring Power Across the State 

Damage assessment was difficult because many roads were blocked by fallen branches and other debris. The final tally of damage across AEP Ohio’s service territory was significant: more than 450 electric poles and 2,100 spans of wire down, plus 200 broken crossarms. In Eastern Ohio — including Belmont, Cambridge, Coshocton, Mt. Vernon, Newark and Zanesville  — 135 poles were replaced and 645 spans of wire were either repaired or fully replaced.

AEP Ohio deployed more than 2,500 workers, with many working 16-hour shifts to repair damage caused by the storm. That included 569 full-time employees, 929 contract employees (roughly three times our everyday average), 470 tree-trimmers and 572 transmission employees. Help arrived from beyond Ohio’s borders – crews from Tennessee, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Texas and even Canada – and the full team steadily chipped away at the damage. Below is a small snapshot of what our crews encountered:


More than ninety percent of customers were back on by Thursday afternoon, yet work continued in some of the hardest hit areas, like Wooster. Offroad work required driving through fields and heavily wooded areas just to access our equipment – making progress slow-going.
By Monday, June 20 the power was flowing again to all customers across Ohio.

We know being without power, especially for an extended period of time, is difficult.  We truly appreciate your support as our crews worked to restore power in your community.

If you are facing financial hardship, we’re here to help. We’ve expanded our Neighbor to Neighbor program offering bill assistance to eligible customers and additional support is available here.  

 

20 responses to “Restoring Your Power After the Storm

  1. Being without power for a couple of days, is nothing compared to what the crew had to endured to repaired the damage.
    We greatly appreciate your work and commitment to make us comfortable.
    Thank you so much!

  2. We truly Appreciate the line crews that work long hours and poor conditions when we are with out power. All the guys deserve at 👍 . Flushing Ohio these guys really take of us.

  3. Thanks to AEP staff and all crews for your hard work in restoring power. These things happen and it is just that way! You people always to top-notch work and service! Best Wishes!

  4. Who do I contact regarding hazardous conditions? Lines are laying on branches and trees are dead, ready to take out power lines.

  5. Thank you for all the hard work it took to get the power back on. The damage was wide spread and extensive and what the team had to go through to repair everything was incredible! You all are very much appreciated.
    Thank you!

  6. I know you get a ton of complaints. But as I tell people is you can imagine how much damage a storm can make. Everyone thinks you can fix everything as fast as it got torn up. Thanks for your work and dedication to the area.

  7. My power was out for four days. It was a bad storm. So many poles and lines down. My son is an AEP lineman and he worked some long,hard hours in the heat.I know you did the best you could considering the bad situation. Thank you and thank you lineman ❤️

    1. Hello Winter. We’re very sorry to hear of the food that you lost during the outage. Many homeowners and renters insurance policies offer reimbursement of food lost during a power outage. You should check with your insurance company to see what is covered under your policy.

  8. Thank you to ALL AEP workers who endured horrible conditions to get our power back on. YOU ARE APPRECIATED! 😊

  9. Thank you so very much for all the hard work involved getting our power back on. My husband has COPD so we were particularly concerned. He has to have his A/C…especially when it gets really hot. Along with his breathing treatments as required. Is there a form or something I can fill out so he doesn’t have to wait too long for power to be restored? I think this time it was out like 4 days. We had a camper in Guernsey County which had power restored before at home…so we went there until we could come home again. Thank you once more!! You guys are all THE BEST!!!!

    1. Hi Shirley. Thank you for the supportive words. Our crews work hard and appreciate the kindness shown by those in the community. You are able to request a form to register life support equipment by calling our Customer Support Center at 800-672-2231. This form does not guarantee that your power will be restored quicker or prevent an outage from occurring. You can learn more about our restoration process here: https://www.aepohio.com/lib/docs/outages/restorationInfoGraphic_AEPOhio.pdf

  10. It could have been so much worse. Not one person died in all of this carnage! Thanks for your wonderful response to our power outage.

  11. Would like to thank power linemen for fast response in fixing power outage tonight on Jackson Drive Crooksville Ohio. Heat was off and at -20+ Very much appreciated. Thank you Greg Shafer

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