CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Crews with Appalachian Power Company and the West Virginia Department of Transportation are still hard at work trying to help West Virginia residents affected by Winter Storm Blair.
Appalachian Power released an update Wednesday evening showing that just under 6,000 customers in southern West Virginia remain without power, down from the nearly 27,000 without power in the state Tuesday afternoon.
Of the roughly 6,000 Appalachian Power customers without power, 4,400 are Mercer County residents.
Jeff, a line crew supervisor for Appalachian Power, said on a post made on X Wednesday afternoon, that crews are out in the elements working as quickly as they can.
“We’re out here working in the snowy conditions. We’ve got quick a bit of ice accumulation and we’re having to deal with the slick travel conditions, so just be patient with us,” he said. “Just know that we are out there, and we are working as fast as we can to get you restored.”
🎥 From the field: Line Crew Supervisor Jeff D. has been restoring power for Appalachian Power customers for nearly 24 years. In this short video, Jeff gives an update on his crew, the conditions they’re working in, and a reminder to be safe. pic.twitter.com/azdAnJORVW
— Appalachian Power (@AppalachianPowe) January 8, 2025
Mackenzie, a line mechanic with the company, says line crews begin restoration efforts at larger power systems and work their way down.
“We run tickets according to the amount of people that are on them, so we start at our substations and work our way out with the three-phase. When we get the three-phase on, we can work off our single-phase taps, which is a lot more of our rural areas,” he said. “The reason you might have power and the person on the other side doesn’t is because they’re on different phases off that three-phase, so it all just depends on how close you are to the station.”
Customers often wonder why their power remains out while their neighbors’ power has been restored. Line mechanic Mackenzie K. explains how this can happen as he works through Winter Storm Blair repairs. pic.twitter.com/2CIoQKQJ0y
— Appalachian Power (@AppalachianPowe) January 8, 2025
Appalachian Power expects to have 90% or more of the affected customers restored by Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, the West Virginia Department of Transportation also put out a video on X Wednesday that showed off a worker manning a snowplow.
Travis McCormick, a WVDOT employee in Kanawha County, explains the process on ice-covered roadways.
“When I’m plowing and I notice a lot more ice, I’ll turn my rates up. That way, I’m getting more salt down on that ice to try to start breaking it as I’m plowing it, and eventually, it’ll give and start breaking and we’ll get the roads completely clear,” McCormick said.
Meet Travis McCormick — a Transportation Worker 2 based in Kanawha County. Travis is one of approximately 3,000 transportation workers at the WVDOT. We thank them for working around the clock on our highway system and we remind motorists to give our plow drivers room to operate. pic.twitter.com/V1izklQpoZ
— WVDOT (@WVDOT) January 8, 2025
McCormick says keeping the slow lane open is a must on any state highway or interstate.
“You’ve got to keep that slow lane open. That’s the major thing,” McCormick said. “You’ve got fire departments, EMS, police officers, nurses, doctors trying to make it to work.”