Power for thousands of AEP customers returned amid a heat wave that strained the power grid.
AEP announced on its X page just after 7:15 p.m. June 24 that some 2,140 customers in Columbus lost power. More than 2,100 AEP Ohio customers remained without power as of 10 p.m. Tuesday, June 24, in parts of Columbus’ Northeast and North Central sides, according to the utility’s outage map.
Power was mostly restored for customers as of 11 a.m. the following day when less than 200 AEP Ohio customers were without power.
AEP said it deployed several crews to address the outage, which affected parts of East Linden, Arlington Park, Argyle Park, Brentnell and Teakwood areas.
AEP did not report what caused the outage or give an estimated time for when power to residents would be restored. However, just hours earlier, AEP Ohio had issued an emergency request for customers to limit their energy use from 3-7 p.m. and to avoid the use of large appliances like dishwashers, ovens and washing machines.
AEP said the heatwave is placing a “significant burden” on the electric grid that serves Ohio and 12 other states, and warned that energy conservation was necessary to prevent the need for rolling outages amid extreme heat.
Impacted residents who would like to receive restoration updates via text or email can sign up at AEPOhio.com/Alerts, the utility said.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Power returns for thousands of Columbus AEP customers left in the dark amid heat wave
Reporting by Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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