Thousands of AEP customers without power after storms roar across region

James Dalpino
·3 min read

UPDATE: 5/27 12:01 P.M. — AEP says power is back on for more than 30% of people impacted by the powerful thunderstorms in Virginia on May 26. However, about 25,000 customers are still in the dark on May 27.

According to AEP, damage is widespread and additional workers to help with storm restoration began arriving early this morning. Here are the areas with the number of customers impacted:

  • Amherst County: 307

  • Bedford County: 1,365

  • Bland County: 595

  • Botetourt County: 232

  • Buchanan County: 387

  • Campbell County: 194

  • Carroll County: 74

  • Franklin County: 38

  • Giles County: 2,958

  • Grayson County: 113

  • City of Lynchburg: 679

  • Montgomery County: 600

  • Pulaski County: 5,395

  • Roanoke County: 2,147

  • City of Roanoke: 853

  • Wythe County: 2,513

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UPDATE: 5/27 6:04 A.M. — After severe thunderstorms pushed through the region on Sunday, more than 32,000 AEP customers in Virginia remain in the dark Monday morning.

AEP says the heavy storms damaged distribution and transmission equipment, and caused several trees and power lines to fall. The power company has requested an additional 1,000 storm response workers to help restore services.

At this time, the company says the majority of outages are in Pulaski, Giles, Roanoke, and Wythe Counties. The following areas are without power:

  • Amherst County: 409

  • Bedford County: 2,028

  • Bland County: 702

  • Botetourt County: 90

  • Buchanan County: 531

  • Campbell County: 720

  • Carroll County: 300

  • Franklin County: 116

  • Giles County: 118

  • City of Lynchburg: 679

  • Nelson County: 717

  • Montgomery County: 899

  • Pulaski County: 5,834

  • Roanoke County:3,854

  • City of Roanoke: 2,805

  • Wythe County: 2,711

Customers in Virginia can expect to have power restored by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28. However, AEP says areas with less damage will likely have power restored earlier.

With widespread outages, AEP is encouraging customers to stay away from sparking equipment or downed lines, never remove debris within 10 feet of a power line, and leave a light switch turned on so you know when power is back.

To check the status of a power outage in your area, visit AEP’s outage map, or sign up for Appalachian Power alerts.

WFXR News will continue to monitor outages and update this story as more information is released.

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UPDATE: 12:56 A.M. — Appalachian Power (AEP) says more than 46,000 customers across Virginia lost power Sunday.

They estimate that 90% of affected customers will have power restored by 11 p.m. Tuesday, but they expect most will have power back earlier.

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ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR)– Appalachian Power is reporting that multiple areas in our region are experiencing outages due to the current stormy conditions.

Here are the counties and the amount of customers that are currently without power:

  • Amherst County: 698

  • Bedford County: 2,075

  • Bland County: 1,171

  • Botetourt County: 1,165

  • Buchanan County: 1,365

  • Campbell County: 2,787

  • Carroll County: 280

  • Franklin County: 1,144

  • Giles County: 6,271

  • City of Lynchburg: 1,764

  • Nelson County: 717

  • Montgomery County: 874

  • Pulaski County: 8,264

  • Roanoke County: 3,704

  • City of Roanoke: 2,805

  • Wythe County: 3,070

AEP encourages customers who see a downed line to report it and avoid the area. Outages can be reported by calling 800-956-4237 or entering a report online.

To check the status of an outage near you, visit this link.

WFXR News will update this story as further information is released.

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