Winter Storm Blair Update #4
Monday, Jan. 6, 2025 – 9 a.m.
Situation
Winter Storm Blair struck West Virginia with heavy snow and ice early Monday morning, resulting in power outages for 50,000 customers between 3 and 6 a.m. The powerful winter storm system continues this morning in Virginia and is expected to taper off early this afternoon. Winter Storm Blair has left behind treacherous road conditions, downed power lines and fallen trees in most of Appalachian Power’s service territory. As of 9 a.m., 92,000 customers remain without electric service, including 49,000 in Virginia and 43,000 in West Virginia.
Weather
- This morning, light-to-moderate ice accumulations of up to 0.50" are expected in the Christiansburg and Roanoke areas.
- Heavy accumulations of ice and snow coupled with low temperatures can bring down utility poles, trees and limbs, resulting in a multi-day restoration event.
- Extreme cold temperatures can cause line overload problems when trying to restore a large number of customers. In many cases, we must restore large outages in smaller groups, letting the electric load settle before restoring additional customers. Customers with outages can assist by turning off large electric users, such as heaters and water heaters until 15 or more minutes after power has been restored.
Storm Restoration Efforts
- Nearly 5,000 personnel across the company’s footprint are dedicated to power restoration.
- Line mechanic crews from AEP Ohio, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Indiana & Michigan Power are working alongside Appalachian Power employees and contractors.
- Appalachian Power’s generation facilities follow specific protocols and procedures to combat the expected winter weather and ensure safe and reliable operations across our entire generation fleet.
- Over the last several days, AEP has been in contact with PJM, the regional transmission organization responsible for monitoring the power grid in 13 states, about any potential impacts to the power grid and will take direction from them as necessary.
How Appalachian Power Restores Power
- In a major power outage, priority is given to restoring circuits that deliver electricity to essential public safety facilities such as hospitals, 911 call centers, water treatment plants, and police and fire stations.
- Next, Appalachian Power will perform repairs to restore electric service to the largest pockets of customers in the shortest amount of time. Sometimes, a single repair can restore service to hundreds or thousands of customers. Appalachian Power will then move on to repair portions of circuits that restore service to smaller pockets of customers. These repairs may restore service to dozens of customers when completed.
- In the final phase, power is restored to individual homes and businesses. This phase of the restoration process can be time-consuming after a significant storm because there are so many of these kinds of repairs.
Prepare an Emergency Outage Kit
Appalachian Power's grid is robustly designed and constructed to withstand Appalachian weather. However, no system is entirely immune to nature's forces. Gather an emergency outage kit that includes:
- Flashlights and fresh batteries
- Battery-powered radios or televisions
- Candles, matches or lighters
- Water for drinking and cooking
- Portable heater, either oil or gas (Note: Some portable heaters can cause fires or other safety hazards when not used as specified by the manufacturer. Be sure to review the safety specifications of your specific model before using it during an outage.)
- Camping equipment like sleeping bags, camp stoves and lanterns
- Non-perishable food and a manual can opener
- Manufacturers' instructions for your generator (if you have one)
- Instructions for how to manually open your garage door
- Important over-the-counter medicines
Click here for additional safety tips and here for ways to save energy during low temperatures.
For More Information
Customers can get specific information about the outages affecting their accounts via text message and/or email by subscribing to Appalachian Power outage alerts. To sign up, please visit Appalachian Power alerts.
A snapshot view of current outages is available anytime by visiting Appalachian Power's Outage Map.
Next Update: Monday, Jan. 6, 2025 – 2 p.m.