This story is in response to a reader-submitted question through Open Source, a platform where readers can submit questions to the staff.
MOUNT VERNON — It’s the question many Knox County residents want answers to Wednesday, as a heat wave moves in and thousands remain without electricity following Monday night’s storm:
When will my power come back on?
A reader asked this question through our Open Source platform, and we decided to look into it.
The answer? Worst-case scenario, it may take several days.
AEP, the county’s largest electrical provider, could not provide a timeline when asked late Tuesday what the “worst-case scenario” might look like for Knox County residents still without power.
“Crews are continuing to assess significant storm damage across Ohio as well as making repairs,” a spokesperson told Knox Pages in an email. “Assessment in hard-hit areas, including Knox County, will continue and we expect to have a better indication of restoration times this evening.”
AEP did update its online outage map Tuesday night, including estimated repair times for several Knox County communities. All pointed toward a multi-day affair, with outages expected to last until midnight Friday.
The delay is due to the sheer number of outages facing AEP statewide after Monday night’s storm, the company spokesperson said.
“Severe weather early Tuesday, including wind gusts of up to 75 miles per hour, crossed the state and took down trees and power lines. Because of the significant damage, at the height of the storm more than 155,000 customers were affected,” the spokesperson said.
“Our tree crews are out clearing the way for our lineworkers to get into hard-hit areas and repair equipment, including putting up new poles and wire.”
AEP had approximately 1,400 line, tree, contractor and support personnel working across Ohio late Tuesday, the spokesperson said, including in Knox County. The company has also called in 400 additional employees from Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Florida, Tennessee and Texas to help.
And progress is being made locally. There were 10,089 AEP customers in Knox County without power Wednesday morning – down from 15,292 the day before.
“We appreciate the patience of our customers. Know that we are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore power,” the AEP spokesperson said. “Our teams are working 16 hour days and won’t stop until every light is back on.”
AEP encourages its customers to enroll in its free text alert program, download the AEP Ohio mobile app, or follow the company on social media in order to stay updated on the status of individual outages.
“We always caution our customers to stay away from downed power lines, or anything they may be touching. Call 911 or AEP Ohio to report the location,” the spokesperson added.
“Homeowners are responsible for electrical equipment attached to their house. If any equipment was damaged during the storm, it’s important to contact a licensed electrician to make repairs before AEP Ohio can safely restore power.”
The Energy Cooperative, another major Knox County electrical provider with nearly 70,000 customers across central Ohio, said in a Facebook post Wednesday morning that roughly 5,200 customers were still without power – down from nearly 11,000 the day before.
That rate of progress has held true in Knox County, where 2,918 customers without power Wednesday morning – down from 5,188 the day before.
The company said in its Facebook post at 8:45 a.m. that “our crews made good progress overnight.
“AEP was able to bring back up the transmission line that serves Apple Valley around midnight. Our crews were then able to energize all the feeders to get about 2,000 members back on in the middle of the night.”
The company didn’t indicate when power might return to all of its customers, but did hint at progress being made in and around Knox County.
“With the arrival of our additional crews this morning, we have approximately 50 workers out on the system restoring power,” the post read.
“Transmission is back up to Mount Vernon and Palmyra, and those areas should begin to see progress this morning. Crews have been dispatched this morning to continue to work on the largest outages first. By noon today, we will have more detailed outage restoration times by substation to post.”
The company said customers in northeastern Knox County and southwestern Ashland County will likely experience the longest outages.
“Jelloway and Loudonville continue to be the most difficult areas and will most likely be the last area restored,” the company stated.
The Energy Cooperative encourages customers to stay up-to-date by visiting its online outage map.
FirstEnergy, another major electrical provider in Knox County, told Richland Source on Tuesday that, “worst-case scenario,” all of its customers in north central Ohio will regain power by Thursday night.
Most will have power before then, the company said.
There were 405 FirstEnergy customers in Knox County without power on Wednesday morning – the same as the day before. The company is making progress in Richland and Ashland counties, however, where a combined 28,000 customers were without power Tuesday morning (that number is now down to 16,000).
FirstEnergy customers can click here to visit the company’s online outage portal, where they’ll be able to find information and updates.
Consolidated Electric Co-Op, Knox County’s fourth major electrical provider, posted on Facebook Wednesday morning that 5,100 customers were still without power.
The company serves nearly 16,000 customers across eight counties in north central Ohio, including Knox, and reported 9,691 outages following Monday night’s storm.
It’s currently unclear how many of the company’s Knox County customers are still without power, as county-by-county figures are not listed on its website. The company’s online outage map, however, indicates several hundred Knox County customers were likely still without power as of Wednesday morning.
Consolidated Electric Co-Op posted on Facebook at 10:42 a.m. that “outage numbers continue to go down this morning.”
“We are still awaiting updates on transmission restoration to three of our substations, but we are working with what we have to get your power back on as quickly as possible,” the company continued.
“Today, crews from Indiana and Kentucky have come to help us in our efforts. With their help, we are focusing on replacing broken poles, removing trees from lines, and restoring power for as many members as we can.”
Consolidated Electric Co-Op did not provide a timetable for when power might be fully restored across its coverage area.
“As we continue to assess the extensive damage caused by the storm, we are still looking towards Friday for full system restoration. We will continue to update you as we progress,” the company stated.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding throughout this process. It is our honor to serve you.”
Consolidated Electric Co-Op customers are encouraged to follow the company on social media and check its online outage map for the latest information on power restoration. Customers can also sign up for outage-related texting notifications here.
