GAHANNA,Ohio, Feb. 13, 2009 – AEP Ohio reports that nearly 140,000 customers have been restored to service since the Feb. 11 wind storm affected approximately 167,500 homes and businesses. Currently, 17,000 AEP Ohio customers remain without power.
Restoration maps reflecting 90% restoration times are available on the company’s website at www.aepohio.com and are updated regularly. Listed below are 100% restoration times for areas with customers remaining without power:
Athens
- Athens, Marietta, Gallipolis and Pomeroy - Midnight Saturday, Feb. 14
- Lancaster – Midnight Sunday, Feb.15
- Wellston – Midnight Monday, Feb. 16
Canton
- Canton NE, New Philadelphia, Coshocton and Wooster - Midnight Friday, Feb. 13
- Canton South – Midnight Saturday, Feb. 14
Chillicothe
- Seaman – Midnight Friday, Feb. 13
- Chillicothe – Noon Sunday, Feb. 15
- Chesapeake – Midnight Sunday, Feb. 15
- Portsmouth and Ironton – Midnight Monday, Feb. 16
Columbus
- Delaware, Columbus NEand SW - Midnight Saturday, Feb. 14
- Columbus NW and SE – Midnight Sunday, Feb. 15
Newark
- Newark, Mt. Vernon, Zanesville, Cambridge, Crooksville and McConnelsville - Midnight Sunday, Feb. 15
OhioValley
- East Liverpool, Steubenville and Belmont - Noon Saturday, Feb. 14
- Wheeling and Moundsville, WV - Midnight Sunday, Feb. 15
Western Ohio
- Lima – 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13
- Upper Sandusky, Willard, Bucyrus, Ottawa and Findlay - Midnight Friday, Feb. 13
"We regret that this severe weather event took place,” said Joe Hamrock, AEP Ohio president and chief operating officer. “The storm produced extremely difficult conditions for everyone, including our employees who are rebuilding our damaged electrical distribution system.
Ohio customers are encouraged to call AEP Ohio’s Customer SolutionsCenterat 1-800-277-2177 and West Virginia customers should call 1-800-852-6942 to report their outage, especially if they notice other homes or businesses in their area have power. This may be the result of an individual service problem that needs attention.
Never touch a downed utility wire, no matter how harmless it looks. It can be difficult to distinguish between a power line and a cable or telephone line. All downed lines should be considered energized and dangerous. And don’t touch anything in contact with the line, such as trees, fences or puddles of water, since they can conduct electricity. Keep children and pets away from this potential hazard. Call AEP Ohio to report any downed lines or equipment.
AEP Ohio provides electricity to nearly 1.5 million customers of major AEP subsidiaries Columbus Southern Power Company and Ohio Power Company in Ohio, and Wheeling Power Company in the northern panhandle of West Virginia. AEP Ohio is based in Gahanna, Ohio, and is a unit of American Electric Power.
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1:00 p.m. Update