SUPERSTORM OUTAGES 154,000 West Virginians Still In The Dark; Some Expected To Wait Days For Service
Reported by: Bethany Simmons
Web Producer: Bethany Simmons
Also Contributing: Associated Press
Reported: Nov. 1, 2012 7:59 AM EDT
Updated: Nov. 1, 2012 5:34 PM EDT
EYEWITNESS ONLINE WEBCAST VIDEO C L I C K T O P L A Y
Charleston
, Kanawha County
, West Virginia
Utility crews are working to restore service to at least 130,000 customers in West Virginia.
FirstEnergy's website says more than 74,000 customers of Mon Power and Potomac Edison are without electricity Thursday. A majority of its customers in Barbour, Braxton, Nicholas, Preston, Randolph, Tucker, Upshur and Webster counties had no power. Preston County had the most outages at 13,000.
A Mon Power spokesman had no estimate on when power would be restored.
Appalachian Power said it has about 56,000 outages statewide. The most significant numbers were in Kanawha County, where 11,666 residents remained without power Thursday afternoon. Kanawha County Manager Jennifer Sayre said two emergency shelters, the Hansford Senior Center in St. Albans and the Salvation Army in Charleston, would be open Thursday night for anyone without power who needed shelter.
Other counties serviced by AEP with significant power outage numbers were Boone County, 7,460; Fayette County, 7,367; Wyoming County, 5,709; Raleigh County, 4,388; and Clay, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Nicholas and Wayne County with more than 1,000 customers each.
Appalachian Power spokesman Phil Moye said service would be restored by Friday night in Beckley, Bluefield, Hamlin, Hico, Huntington, Logan, Pineville, Point Pleasant, Ripley, Wayne, Welch, and Williamson.
AEP CEO Charles Patton spoke with Eyewitness News on Wednesday. Service was expected to be restored by late Sunday night in some other areas, including Charleston and Madison.
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Bethany Simmons
