AEP connects more power, but long way to go - Hometownstations.com-WLIO- Lima, OH News Weather Sports

 AEP Ohio -- through our rebuilding efforts -- has restored power to more  than a half million customers affected by the catastrophic storm that  moved through the state June 29 and the additional 20,000 who lost power  in the July 1 evening storm.

  As of 9:30 a.m. today, approximately 516,000 of the customers left without  power June 29 now have service.

  New overnight storms interrupted power to approximately 23,000 additional  customers across our service territory. Power has been restored to all by  approximately 8,700 of those customers.

  New storm fronts are continuing to move across Ohio this morning. A storm  cell moving through central Ohio at this time could affect the east side  of Columbus.

  Restoration continues to proceed well, and we anticipate 90 to 95 percent  of our customers affected by last Friday's storm will have their service  restored by midnight Saturday.

  Approximately 144,000 AEP Ohio customers remain without power.

  The majority of the customers still without power are located in the  central and southeastern Ohio Columbus, Newark and Athens service areas.

 These areas include Athens, Fairfield, Franklin, Jackson, Licking, Meigs,  Muskingum and Washington counties.

  In central Ohio, approximately 26,000 remain without power in Franklin  County and 17,000 in Licking County. At the peak, approximately 45 percent  of AEP Ohio's 1.4 million customers were without power.

  To view current outages by county, view the outage map at the link below.

 https://aepohio.com/outages/details.aspx?stormName=June 29, 2012, Severe  Summer Storms

I thought all of you may benefit from Joy's inquiries.

Shelly Clark
AEP Ohio Corporate Communications
Phone: 419-998-5179
Cell: 419-303-0108


Shelly, Joy at The Courier here. A few questions:
 
1.        Do you have any updated municipal maps available that reflect where the outages are within the City of Findlay and Ottawa? Or can you at least give me some info on where outages remain today within those city limits?

         I do not have municipal maps showing outages throughout City of Findlay or Ottawa.  

        Findlay areas (not all but the top numbers):  McPherson Avenue, High Point Lane, Renwick Street, Queenswood Drive, Glessner Avenue.
        Ottawa areas (not all but the top numbers): Road 5, Center Street, N. Locust

2.        Did outage numbers in western Ohio at any time go UP following Friday's storm for any reason? Say, because of Sunday eve's storms, or the brutal heat? We apparently reported late Monday that 10,310 were in the dark, but then we reported 10,544 were without power on Tuesday night (that might've been our mistake, but I thought I'd ask).

        There was a storm that went through the area earlier in the week and last night causing additional outages.  I am not aware of any outages caused by loading issues.  At least not in Western Ohio.  In Columbus area, load shedding occurred on Monday and a media advisory was issued Tuesday for curtailment from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.


3.        Speaking of the heat, is it having any sort of negative affect on restoration? Are workers having to take more breaks because of it, or is overuse in areas with restored power knocking it out?

        Workers are taking more breaks to keep hydrated and cool themselves.  The line mechanics wear personal protective equipment plus fire retardant clothing that is heavy and heat restricting.  The temperatures have been in the high 90's all week with high levels of humidity and will continue throughout the restoration period. We have had a couple of contractors seek medical assistance due to dehydration/ heat exhaustion.


4.        We keep hearing that power will be restored to 90 percent of Findlay customers by midnight Saturday. Any estimate at this point when 100 percent will happen? And who will be the last customers to be restored?

        The restoration efforts in Findlay area is contingent upon the restoration of the transmission lines that serve substations in the area.  Approximately, 443 transmission poles came down due to the high consistent winds experienced on Friday evening.

        Early in the restoration process, a large number of customers can be restored when energizing an isolating device,   As restoration efforts continue, a smaller number of customers are restored when the isolated device is energized.  Single customers will be the last ones energized.  See restoration process on aepohio.com

        AEP Ohio cannot connect power to any home or business where there is damage to the service entrance. The service entrance is the area located 1) at the meter, 2) between the meter and the home's electrical panel, or 3) the location where AEP Ohio's cable connects to the home/business owner's cable. Customers need to have a qualified electrician repair this damage before power can be restored to the home or business.
       
5.        And finally, here's the question I'm sure you guys have been getting too: why is it taking so long to restore power in Findlay and Ottawa? People are wondering why rural folks up here are getting it back while city dwellers aren't. Were these towns hit more hard than, say, Columbus or Kenton?

        As stated above, the transmission system that serves substations in these areas experienced heavy damage as opposed to other areas.  The storm damaged more than 680 transmission structures across Ohio, affecting service to more than 390,000 AEP Ohio customers. In AEP Ohio's western Ohio service area alone, 443 transmission structures were downed by the storm affecting Paulding, Van Wert, Ottawa, Findlay, Bucyrus and Upper Sandusky areas.


 
Thanks for all your help, Shelly! We've really appreciated your timely updates, and even though my own household remains without electricity, I do appreciate all the hard work that those in the field are doing in this brutal heat.
 
 
Joy Brown
The Courier