Alabama Power making significant strides to restore service after Hurricane Zeta
Alabama Power crews are making great progress in restoring power after Hurricane Zeta. Crews from 19 states and Canada are assisting. (Wynter Byrd / Alabama NewsCenter)
Alabama Power expects to have service restored by noon Sunday to 80% of customers who lost power when Hurricane Zeta swept across the state.
Company crews, working with more than 1,700 lineworkers and support personnel from 19 states and Canada, continued to make significant progress restoring service through the day Friday.
As of 4 p.m. Friday, service had been restored to 313,000 customers, with 191,000 customers still without service. All told, the storm, whose impact is similar to what the company experienced during Hurricane Katrina and the April 27, 2011 tornadoes, knocked out service to nearly one-third of all Alabama Power customers.
Power outages peaked at 504,000 early Thursday morning, with a total of 604,000 customers affected. Late Friday afternoon, service had been fully restored in a dozen counties: Barbour, Clayton, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Franklin, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lamar, Russell and Winston. The hardest-hit areas of eastern, central and southwestern Alabama could see restoration extend into next week.
The company expressed regret Friday that some customers have had problems reporting outages or getting accurate information about their power.
“We apologize to the customers who tried to reach us unsuccessfully or who received inaccurate information regarding their power status,” the company said in a statement to customers. “We recognize this has added frustration to an already stressful situation.”
Alabama Power’s storm team will continue to work safely and efficiently until service is restored to all customers who can receive it. Updates on restoration efforts are being posted on Alabama Power social media channels, including Facebook and Twitter.
Customers should stay away from downed power lines, as well as fallen trees and tree limbs that could be hiding downed lines. Always assume a downed line is still energized and poses a potentially deadly hazard. If you spot a downed line, call Alabama Power at 1-800-888-2726 or local law enforcement and wait for trained crews to perform the potentially dangerous work of removing the line or any debris.
To report a power outage, go to AlabamaPower.com or download the Alabama Power mobile app. Customers also can call 1-800-888-2726 to report an outage.
Zeta is the latest severe storm in this year’s record-breaking hurricane season. More storms are possible before the season ends later this fall, so Alabama Power customers should remain vigilant and have their storm-readiness plans in place. Learn more about how to prepare by visiting Alabama Power’s Storm Center.
