Number of power outages expected to rise, according to Appalachian Power

VIRGINIA (WDBJ) - Appalachian Power estimated Saturday that more southwest Virginians may lose power after storms caused customer outages.

Crews have restored power to more than 30,000 customers after Friday night’s storms, but thousands of customers are still without service after more storms Saturday.

There is not an estimated restoration time for areas affected by Saturday’s storms, according to the utility, with another update coming late Sunday morning.

Appalachian Power recommends residents stay safe:

“All downed lines are dangerous — they carry an electric current that can cause serious or even fatal injuries. Stay away to stay alive. If you encounter a fallen wire, keep yourself and others away from it and anything it may be touching, and call 911 and Appalachian Power at 1-800-956-4237 immediately.”

Additional safety tips are posted at appalachianpower.com/outages/faq/OutageSafetyTips.aspx.”

Customers can get specific information about the outages affecting their accounts via text message and/or email by subscribing to Appalachian Power outage alerts here.

A snapshot view of current outages is available anytime here.