Severe Storms Cause Significant Outages; Crews From Across The South Helping To Restore Service

By Donna Cope and Ike Pigott

More than 2,500 workers from 11 states are on the way to Alabama, after an intense line of thunderstorms disrupted power for more than 220,000 Alabama Power customers on Thursday. As of 9:30 a.m. Friday morning, crews working through the night had restored power to more than 175,000 customers. About 46,000 customers were still without service, scattered widely across Alabama Power territory.

Most of the outages were caused by high winds, which reached speeds of 60 mph or more in some places. The winds knocked down trees already loosened from significant rains, which took down power poles and power lines. As of Friday morning, evaluators had identified more than 100 broken poles and other infrastructure damage.

Customers should stay away from downed lines. Keep pets away from downed lines and do not drive over them. Report hazardous conditions to Alabama Power at 1-800-888-2726.The additional crews are coming from across the South and the Midwest – Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, South Carolina, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, Florida and Virginia. Some crews had already arrived Friday morning, with others on the way.

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