AES Ohio announced Monday that it has restored power to all 136,000 customers impacted by the remnants of Hurricane Helene Thursday, Oct. 3, according to a news release.
The powerful Category 4 storm caused significant outages across the AES Ohio service territory and the southeast US. Sustained winds exceeding 55 mph, accompanied by heavy rain and falling trees, caused extensive damage to AES Ohio’s power lines and electric infrastructure. AES Ohio crews worked alongside local and external resources under challenging conditions to achieve a safe restoration. This weather event ranks in the top 10 most significant storms to affect the region in the last two decades, most recently the outages from the Memorial Day tornadoes.
“‘Our customers rely on us to be prepared and restore power as quickly as possible during these critical times. It is a privilege to serve our customers, and appreciate their trust, patience and understanding,” said AES Ohio President Tom Raga. “We’re always thankful for how our community unites during times of need.”
“Beginning Friday, Sept. 27, our dedicated field, operations, customer service and support teams worked tirelessly day and night to bring power back to our community. AES Ohio thanks the following companies who provided mutual assistance Eversource (Massachusetts), NIPSCO (Northern Indiana), AES Indiana and Ohio’s Pioneer Electric, Tipp City Electric and Darke Rural Electric Cooperative. The mutual assistance system and remote communications with smart meters to verify service allowed us to eliminate the need for field checks, resulting in more timely restoration for other customers facing outages,” the release states.
By the numbers:
• 136,000 customers impacted
• 724 field and support personnel accelerating the restoration efforts
• 89 transformers replaced
• 126 poles replaced
“As we resume regular operations, we remain committed to meeting your needs by delivering reliable and safe electric service,” the release states.
To learn more about AES Ohio’s restoration process, visit aes-ohio.com/power-restorationprocess.
