It's going to be another wet and windy weekend in Central Ohio and American Electric Power is gearing up by calling in reinforcements to handle possible outages.
AEP Ohio is bringing in more than 600 people from across the country, some from as far away as Texas, to be on standby in case of more outages.
Extra personnel are also coming in from Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, South Carolina and Alabama, said Matt Bennett, operations manager in Columbus.
Here in the state, Ohio AEP's crews at 42 service centers are checking trucks and equipment and stocking up on materials.
Last weekend’s weather left 125,000 AEP customers across the state temporarily without power.
Spring weather is proving to be very unpredictable. While all 125,000 customers affected by last week’s storm have been restored, crews are already preparing for yet another weather event to hit later tomorrow. Read more, including how to prepare: https://t.co/01B1RZvPgx pic.twitter.com/53561mek5B
— AEP Ohio (@AEPOhio) March 30, 2023
Bennett said customers should be ready for the possibility of more outages this weekend.
"Every storm is different and they're hard to predict. So, our message to our customers is to prepare now,” he said.
It’s good to have a flashlight, batteries, water and nonperishable foods, Bennett said. He also suggested that anyone with serious medical concerns have a backup plan for life support should they lose power.
“Our main concern at AEP Ohio is always the safety of our crew members and the public and our customers,” Bennett said.
He stressed that everyone should stay away from downed wires and report them immediately at AEP or to local safety services.
When outages occur, AEP first works on restoring power to critical infrastructure like hospitals, nursing homes, and police and fire departments. Then, line crews deal with the outages affecting the most people.
“And we’ll continue that process until every last outage is restored,” Bennett said.
Outages can be reported and tracked on AEP Ohio’s outage map. Customers can also sign up for text alerts to stay informed.
