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Appalachian Power says it does not expect to restore power to some customers until Thursday afternoon.
The winter storm that blew through Virginia left as many as 105,000 customers across the state without power.
By Monday night, those numbers were down to 61,795, according to the website Poweroutage.us. Of those, 38,200 were in Appalachian territory, the utility said. The Poweroutage.us site said the greatest number was in Franklin County, where 12,226 were without electricity, followed by Bedford County, where 10,991 were in the dark. Campbell County had 7,161 without power while Montgomery County had 5,228 still out.
In all, power outages across Virginia stretched from Tazewell County on the West Virginia line to Henrico and Hanover counties just north of Richmond and involved eight different utilities.
Appalachian said that crews from as far away as Alabama had arrived to help restore power in its territory.
Appalachian gave the following estimates for restoration:
Tuesday, Jan. 7, 11 p.m.:
Floyd
Wednesday, Jan. 8, 11 p.m.:
Christiansburg
Glen Lyn
Woodlawn
Roanoke
Fieldale
Stuart
Thursday, Jan. 9, 6 p.m.
Lovingston
Lynchburg
Rocky Mount
Moneta
Appalachian described its restoration priorities this way:
- “Essential public safety facilities, such as hospitals, 911 call centers, water treatment plants and police and fire stations” come first.
- Next come “the largest pockets of customers” where power can be restored “in the shortest amount of time.”
- After that come “smaller pockets of customers.”
- Finally, individual homes and businesses not covered by the other restorations come last. “This phase of the restoration process can be time-consuming after a significant storm because there are so many of these kinds of repairs,” Appalachian said in a statement.
Appalachian also said that because of the storm it needs to increase power generation from its hydroelectric sites at Claytor Lake and Smith Mountain Lake. “Recreational users downstream of Claytor and Leesville dams should be aware that water levels on the New and Roanoke rivers could rise rapidly starting Wednesday, Jan. 8, and continue to fluctuate throughout the week,” the utility said.
Cardinal News weather journalist Kevin Myatt said temperatures will remain frigid:
“Temperatures will remain cold this week as a reinforcement of Arctic air spreads over Virginia. Gusty winds accompanying the newest surge of Arctic air overnight Monday into Tuesday raise the concern that some ice-laden tree limbs and power lines could be blown down, adding to power outage difficulties.
“Low temperatures in the single digits and teens are expected over much of the state on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Afternoon highs may barely get above freezing a couple of afternoons east of the mountains.
“A low-pressure system tracking across the South poses the risk of another round of snow or wintry mix for Virginia by Friday and Saturday.”
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