AEP Ohio honored for Hurricane Ida storm support

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GAHANNA – AEP Ohio, an American Electric Power (AEP) company, has been honored by Edison Electric Institute (EEI) as one of its Emergency Response Award recipients.

EEI’s Emergency Response Award specifically recognizes AEP Ohio, based in Gahanna, Ohio, for its help during the devastating wake of Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 hurricane.

Presented to EEI member companies, the Emergency Response Awards recognize the recovery and assistance efforts of electric companies following service disruptions caused by extreme weather or other natural events. The winners were chosen by a panel of judges following an international nomination process, and the awards were presented during EEI’s virtual winter Board of Directors meeting.

AEP Ohio, a unit of AEP, usually provides electricity to 1.5 million customers. However, during this emergency, AEP Ohio also provided out-of-state support for other AEP operating companies following several severe storms in 2021.

For example, AEP Ohio sent nearly 100 line-workers and contract employees to Louisiana for 16 days in September – logging more than 50,000 person-hours in hot, humid, water-logged conditions – to help restore power after 150-mile-per-hour winds knocked out power to more than one million customers and caused $2.6 billion in damages.

“This year brought several significant storms and other extreme weather-related events that impacted many customers and communities across the nation,” said EEI president Tom Kuhn. “AEP Ohio and its employees worked around the clock following Hurricane Ida to ensure that power was restored safely and as quickly as possible. I applaud AEP Ohio and its employees for their unwavering dedication to the customers and to the communities they so proudly serve. I am honored to present them with this well-deserved award.”

According to Dave Callahan, AEP Ohio’s emergency preparedness manager, jumping in to lend a hand is hardwired into the DNA of AEP Ohio employees and their families.

“Our men and women are always willing to help others in times of need,” Callahan said. “Even with the challenges COVID created, our crews didn’t hesitate to travel and assist those without power in Louisiana. We also want to recognize the employees who stayed behind to keep the lights on for our customers, and our families who provided much needed support throughout the deployment. It was a total team effort.”

AEP Ohio’s parent company, AEP, is based in Columbus, Ohio, and is one of the nation’s largest electricity producers with approximately 30,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including more than 5,500 megawatts of renewable energy. Approximately 16,700 of its employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 224,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.5 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also focuses on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy customer solutions.

The AEP family of companies includes utilities AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana, east Texas and the Texas Panhandle). AEP also owns AEP Energy, AEP Energy Partners, AEP OnSite Partners, and AEP Renewables, which provide innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide.

News and information about AEP Ohio can be found at AEPOhio.com.

For more information about their parent company, AEP, visit aep.com.

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