Ice Storm Leaves Many In Lynchburg Area Without Power

American Electric and Power is reporting:

Appalachian Power- Dec 15 Virginia Ice Storm Update: 7:00 AM, 12/16/2005Throughout the daylight hours on December 15 a band of sleet, snow and freezing rain moved through Appalachian Power´s Virginia service territory. As the storm progressed toward the northeast it coated the area with ice. Falling trees, tree limbs and power lines interrupt electric service to customers.At 4 p.m., Thursday approximately 17,000 customers were without power, predominantly in the company´s Campbell, Patrick, Henry and Carroll county service areas. By 11 p.m. the weather-related outages had increased to nearly 38,000. At 6 a.m. Friday, the number of customer outages was cut to approximately 26,000 in Virginia.

Appalachian´s local resources are being supported with additional Appalachian crews and staff from locations including Huntington, W.Va., and Kingsport, Tn. In addition, extra contract crews and tree crews were sent into the harder hit areas. Nearly 500 personnel are working on the restoration effort. New outages are still being reported. Preliminary estimates are that power will be restored to customers affected by the storm by midnight Friday, although most will have power earlier.

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 AEPAEP OhioAEP TexasAppalachian PowerIndiana Michigan PowerKentucky PowerPSOSWEPCOAEP Texas to report any downed lines or equipment.

Appalachian 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 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. Customers are reminded that during storm restoration situations, AEP tree crews clear rights of way of trees and move on to the next location. AEP does not return to remove the cut trees. Property owners are responsible for brush removal.
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Virginia Customer ServicePhone: 800-956-4237