SITUATION UPDATE
Around-the-clock restoration efforts continue across AEP Ohio’s service territory following severe weather that started August 10, 2026.
At the height of the storms, more than 135,000 customers lost power. New storms yesterday, along with additional severe weather expected today, have continued to cause outages and some customers have been without power more than once. AEP Ohio has restored power to about 135,000 customers so far this week.
As of 1:30 p.m., about 76,000 customers remain without power as severe weather threatens our service territory for the third day in a row. Crews won’t stop working until every customer is back in power.
DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
As of Wednesday afternoon, crews have assessed about 80% of storm-related damage across our service territory. That number may change as additional severe weather moves into the area.
Current damage includes:
- 110 broken poles
- 646 spans of wire down
- 40 damaged crossarms
- 85 spans of wire with trees entangled
- 23 damaged transformers
ESTIMATED TIMES OF RESTORATION (ETR) AS OF 2 P.M.
Power may be restored before the estimated restoration times listed below.
As crews arrive at individual work locations, more precise restoration times for the affected group of customers will be updated in our system and communicated through alerts if the customers have signed up to receive our notifications by text or email. To sign up for alerts, visit AEPOhio.com/Alerts.
Central Ohio
- Southwest Columbus: Noon Aug. 13
- Northeast, Northwest, Southeast Columbus: Noon Aug. 14
Southeastern Ohio
- Athens: Noon Aug. 13
- Crooksville: 1 p.m. Aug. 14
- Lancaster: Noon Aug. 13
- Pomeroy: 3 p.m. today
Southern Ohio
- Chillicothe: 7 p.m. today
- Lucasville: Midnight tonight
- Seaman: Noon Aug. 14
- South Point: 5 p.m. today
- Wellston: 6 p.m. today
Eastern Ohio
POWERING BACK UP: WHEN TO CALL AN ELECTRICIAN
If the recent storm damaged any electrical equipment attached to your house, you’ll need to work with a licensed electrician to make repairs before we can restore your power — for your safety and ours. Crews will leave a door hanger including important next steps to let you know if they can’t restore power yet due to damage to any customer-owned electrical equipment.
Learn more about the restoration process and responsibilities of a property owner and AEP Ohio here.
SAFETY REMINDERS
- AEP Ohio strongly encourages customers with life-supporting medical equipment to have a backup power source and an alternate plan in the event of a power outage.
- If you see any downed lines, stay as far away from them as possible and anything they may be touching and call 911 or AEP Ohio at 800-672-2231 immediately.
- Investigate your surroundings before trying to clean up any debris. Tree limbs, leaves and other objects moved by the wind could hide downed wires. Do not attempt to remove tree limbs or debris within 10 feet of a power line.
STAYING CONNECTED
- Check your local forecast for the latest updates on timing and intensity.
Watch AEP Ohio President Marc Reitter’s media briefing on storm restoration efforts here.
We’ll continue to keep customers informed as more information becomes available. Updates will be provided at AEPOhio.com as well as other communication channels.