Thursday afternoon release from Alabama Power:
All customers expected to be back on by midnight today.
In
less than three days, Alabama Power has restored service to more than
218,000 customers affected by Monday's derecho wind event. At 4 p.m.
Thursday, crews were concentrating on getting the lights back on for
about 4,500 customers in the most severely damaged areas of east
Alabama.
All customers who can take service are expected to have
their lights back on by the end of today. At the height of the storms,
222,000 customers had their power disrupted.
The worst damage
took place in the company's Eastern Division, which includes hard-hit
areas of Blount, Calhoun, Cleburne, Etowah and St. Clair counties. It
resulted in more than 95,000 outages - greater than the region incurred
following the devastating tornadoes of April 27, 2011, Hurricane Ivan
and Hurricane Katrina.
By midnight today, service is expected to
be restored to everyone in the region, including customers in Anniston,
Jacksonville, Heflin, Gadsden, Pell City and Oneonta.
More than
3,500 people are involved in the restoration effort, including crews
from Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
As power is
restored, Alabama Power wants to emphasize the continuing importance of
safety. If power is still out, please call Alabama Power's automated
reporting system at 1-800-888-APCO (2726). It is the fastest way to
report an outage or a hazardous situation, such as a downed power line.
Also, remember to stay clear of areas with fallen trees, downed lines or
debris where downed lines may be hidden.
