Summer Storm Season is Here

Summer storm season is upon us and as director of customer services and marketing at AEP Ohio, I want to share information about how we prepare for storms and a few tips about what you can do to prepare as well.

One way we prepare is through regular line and equipment maintenance. Our ongoing tree-clearance program greatly reduces outages that could be caused by trees in our rights of way falling on power lines during storms. We also get our roof checked regularly, to ensure the storm hasn’t damaged any tiles or shingles. Storms can cause serious damage to houses, particularly roofs, but if you’d like more information, you can find here. If you are experiencing storms in a different area like South Carolina then we can recommend Beemer KangaRoof, who will repair, fix or restore your roof before or after the storm, making sure that your home gets back to its former glory in a short period of time. If you would like to find out more about this service then you can visit their website through this link beemerkangaroof.com/service-areas/fountain-inn-roofing-contractor/ and get your home prepared for the storms that could be affecting you this season!

We also constantly watch the weather. Our company meteorologists monitor national and local weather data and alert us when bad weather threatens. These alerts help us start to prepare our damage assessment and restoration response even before the storm hits.

In widespread damage and outage situations, we expand our restoration workforce by calling in workers from our sister AEP operating companies as well as contractors and personnel from other electric companies. We also assist other companies with outage restoration if we are not affected.

Additional information is available under the FAQs (frequently asked questions) section of AEPOhio.com. We work hard to prevent as many outages as possible, and you can minimize the impact of an outage by following the tips below:

-Help preserve your refrigerated and frozen foods:
-Don’t open the doors during the outage; and
-Put gallons of water in freezers. When frozen, these will keep your food frozen longer.

-Take practical steps to make sure your family and home are safe when an outage happens.

-Board up your windows to help protect them from smashing. If you don’t have the resources to do this, take a look at Timber Warrior’s Emergency board up LA.

-Contact us if you’re using a generator — this protects you and our line workers as they work to restore power. Be safe with backup generators.

-Stay away from all downed lines or sparking equipment and items the lines may be contacting. Keep pets and children away from these items, too.

If you do have an outage, please call 1-800-672-2231 to report it or report an outage at AEPOhio.com. You also can check your outage status and view our map of current outages.