Power to be restored Thursday in Columbus, AEP says after intentional outage

In the relative darkness of the Karl Road branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, Sarah Hans (left) and Halle Kramer work on their lesson plans for next fall. They are Columbus City School teachers. Electric power outages are reported all over Columbus.

American Electric Power says electricity may not be restored until late Thursday evening in much of central Ohio.

More than 230,000 American Electric Power customers were without power Tuesday afternoon after intentional outages were conducted to protect the power grid, including outages affecting more than 169,000 in the Columbus area, according to the AEP outage map.

Hard-hit areas can expect a multiday outage, and inclement weather may cause further damage and additional outages, according to a release.

According to AEP, power is expected to be restored in:

Central Ohio

  • Northeast Columbus – 11:59 p.m. Thursday
  • Northwest Columbus – 11:59 p.m. Thursday
  • Southeast Columbus – 11:59 p.m. Thursday
  • Southwest Columbus – 11:59 p.m. Thursday
  • Delaware – 3:30 p.m. Wednesday

Southeastern Ohio

  • Athens – 3 p.m. Wednesday
  • Crooksville – 1 p.m. Wednesday
  •  Marietta – 5 p.m. Thursday
  • McConnelsville – 5 p.m. Thursday
  • Pomeroy – 11:59 p.m. Thursday

Southern Ohio

  • Chillicothe – Noon Friday
  •  Hillsboro – Noon Wednesday
  •  Lucasville – Noon Friday
  • Wellston – Noon Friday

Beat the heat: Columbus extends hours at select community centers, pools, splash pads due to heat wave

June 14, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, United States; The Franklin County Dog Shelter & Adoption Center lost power and had no air conditioning on Tuesday afternoon. Responding to a social media post, people arrived by the dozens with ice, fans, water, coolers and more to keep the dogs as comfortable as possible. Mandatory Credit: Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch

Damage to system caused shutoffs

When asked if the outage was the result of a brownout, AEP spokesperson Scott Blake said it was “not necessarily” a brownout, which he said was a technical term that did not apply to the situation.

Due to the heavy storm and winds over the past several days and extreme heat, some lines became stressed and needed to be turned offline to prevent further extensive power line damage, Blake said. When lines are damaged they become sectionalized and other lines become stressed when the power load does not transfer as easily. 

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