The hundreds of out-of-state line crews helping Appalachian Power restore service after the June 29th storm are headed home. The last of the crews were released from duty Sunday.
The company ended up calling on more than 5,000 additional workers from 22 states to help restore power to two-thirds of its customers in southern West Virginia.
Appalachian Power spokeswoman Jeri Metheney says it could take a few weeks before they’re able to release the cost of the storm to the company. She says they need to get receipts and other financial documents from the out-of-state crews as well as the overtime costs for Appalachian Power workers here in West Virginia.
Metheney says the company does not want to release an early estimate and be off by millions of dollars. So instead, they’ll wait until they have an accurate picture before releasing any numbers.
The line crews had to initially stay in residence halls on several college and university campuses because most hotels and motels were filled with residents who had no power.