SWEPCO gives storm update

At 10:30 a.m. Monday, approximately 45,300 customers remain without power after three waves of severe storms with high winds and lightning swept across SWEPCO’s service territory on Easter Sunday.

The outages include 31,200 in Texas, 12,300 in Louisiana and 1,800 in Arkansas.

The first line of storms left 22,000 customers without power Sunday morning, mostly in Texas and Louisiana. Power had been restored to 14,000 customers by the afternoon. However, more storms struck Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas during the late afternoon and evening, leaving a total of 64,000 customers without power by 9 p.m. Sunday.

The storms heavily damaged SWEPCO’s electric system with multiple broken poles and wires down. For example, in several locations, more than 10 poles were down on a single circuit.

Crews continue to assess damage and restore power as safely and quickly as power. Crews from SWEPCO’s sister companies – AEP Texas and Public Service Company of Oklahoma – are joining the restoration effort, along with outside contract crews. Estimated times of restoration will be provided as assessment progresses. Overall storm restoration will be a multiple-day effort.

SAFETY:

DOWNED POWER LINES: Never touch a downed utility wire, no matter how harmless it looks. It can be difficult to distinguish between a power line and a cable or telephone line. All downed lines should be considered energized and dangerous. And don’t touch anything in contact with the line, such as trees, fences or puddles of water, since they can conduct electricity. Keep children and pets away from this potential hazard. Call SWEPCO to report any downed lines or equipment.

PORTABLE GENERATORS: If you use a portable or RV generator, do not plug the generator into your circuit box. Portable generators “backfeed” electricity up the line and risk the lives of repair workers and the public. Follow the manufacturers’ instructions carefully, and plug essential appliances directly into the generator.

OUTAGE INFO:

SWEPCO Mobile App – Report outages, check outage status, and more. Download at App store or Google Play.

SWEPCO Alerts – Get an email or text message with the latest info for your home or business. See SWEPCO.com/Alerts.

SWEPCO.com – outage map, report outages, safety information