We’ve officially said goodbye to the winter season and welcome to spring—and the storms that come with it. With Ohio Severe Weather Awareness Week this week and inclement weather already impacting our area in recent weeks, the time to prepare for future storms is now.

Plan Ahead
In the event of an emergency, it’s important to have a plan in place. Identify a safe area such as a basement or storm shelter with your family ahead of time so they know where to go when severe weather strikes and check with those who are elderly, have health conditions or have young children to ensure they also have a plan in place. Always include your pets in your emergency plan as they will likely need to shelter with you or have another place to stay in the event of an extended outage.

We strongly encourage customers with life-supporting medical equipment to have a backup power source and an alternate plan in the event of a power outage.

Create an Emergency Kit
An emergency preparedness kit is crucial when it comes to any severe weather event. At minimum, your kit should include non-perishable food, water, a flashlight, fresh batteries, a battery-powered radio or television, a portable cell phone charging bank, a blanket or sleeping bag, a first aid kit and any necessary medications. Download this checklist to make sure you don’t forget anything.

Prepare your Property
Along with severe weather often comes strong wind—remember to secure any loose objects outside of your home such as furniture, umbrellas or trampolines that could become airborne. Should the power go out, remember to unplug electronics and appliances to protect them when power is restored. If you use a generator, make sure you are operating it properly to protect yourself and our lineworkers as they restore power.

Stay Away, Stay Alive
Any and all downed lines should be considered dangerous. Always assume that they are carrying an electric current that can cause serious or even fatal injuries. If you encounter a fallen wire, keep yourself and others far away and then call 911 and AEP Ohio immediately. 

Stay Connected
Our team is always ready to respond to power outages and keep you informed. Just like we did for the recent windstorm across the state—we want to keep you updated. To receive the latest information, you can:

How We Prepare 
Hit play to hear from one of our team members as he explains how AEP Ohio prepares for storms and how we restore power when it goes out. 

Visit AEPOhio.com/Safety and Ready.gov for more information.

12 responses to “Storms: Be Prepared. Stay Safe.

  1. Include warnings concerning generators and carbon monoxide in addition to CO dangers from using an unmaintained fireplace for heat during cold weather outages.

  2. How do I get trees trimmed that have power lines strung to close to the trees. I’ve showed And told trees trimmers for AEP and even told a AEP representative that was checking power outages about the trees and no one has done anything. I can’t afford to have these trees trimmed. The line was put up to close to these trees many years ago.

  3. Thank you for doing an excellent job!
    AEP can’t be beat. Always keeping us updated and providing excellent information and service.

  4. Several months ago, AEP came out to fix my electric as the fiber optic company messed it up and they said we will temporary fix it and will be out later to finish the work. Well, they never came back to finish to permanently fix it.

    1. We are sorry to hear that, Cheryl. That is not the experience we want our customers to have. I have forwarded your message to our customer service team and they will be reaching out to you. You can also call them directly at 800-672-2231 or message them on Facebook or Twitter.

    1. Hi Joyce. While there is no reason to think going into your basement is unsafe, you should also be sure to strictly adhere to the safety instructions provided by the manufacturers of your gas furnace and water heater.

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