Appalachian Power provides update on power restoration efforts

West Virginia (WOAY) The weekend winter storm impacted all of Appalachian Power’s (ApCo) 57-county service area.

The utility reports the heaviest damages taking place in Lincoln and Kanawha counties. 

Thousands of ApCo personnel remain concentrated in those areas, working to restore power as safely and quickly as possible.  

At the height of the storm, outages peaked at about 44,500 customers across APCO’s three-state service territory on Sunday. 

As of late Tuesday afternoon, crews had restored power to nearly 90 percent of affected customers, despite frigid temperatures and hazardous conditions.  

About 4,300 customers remain without service, including roughly 2,100 in Virginia and 2,200 in West Virginia. 

ApCo expects to restore power to the majority of remaining customers by this morning.  

Cleanup and additional work could continue throughout today in some areas. 

More winter weather is expected later this week, with forecasts calling for additional snow and continued bitterly cold temperatures across much of its service area. 

The company’s outage map also lists more than 100 warming centers currently open across the region. 

As power restoration efforts continue, APCO reminds customers take safety precautions.

Extreme cold can strain power lines when electricity returns to large areas.  

Customers should turn off large electric appliances like space heaters and water heaters for at least 15 minutes after power comes back on. 

ApCo also warns customers to stay away from downed power lines, to verify worker credentials, and to never allow unsolicited repairs.  

Generator users are urged to follow manufacturer instructions and to operate generators outdoors, away from windows and doors. 

More winter storm safety tips are available at appalachianpower.com/safety.

Customers can also sign up for outage alerts or follow APCO on social media for updates.