WEST VIRGINIA (LOOTPRESS) – Thousands of West Virginians are without electricity as an ongoing winter storm continues to bring freezing rain and ice accumulation across the state, and officials warn the number of outages is likely to rise.
According to PowerOutage.us, as of the latest update, 3,318 homes and businesses in West Virginia are without power, accounting for 0.33% of the state’s 1,011,760 tracked customers.
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West Virginia currently ranks 12th nationwide for total power outages and 10th for the percentage of customers affected.
Of the state’s 55 counties, Nicholas County is the hardest hit, with 932 customers without power. That represents 6.5% of customers in the county, the highest percentage statewide.
Among utilities, Appalachian Power Company reports the largest number of outages, with 2,806 customers without electricity.
Harrison Rural Electrification Association has the highest percentage of customers affected, with 3.22% without power.
Utility officials caution that outage numbers are expected to increase as ice continues to accumulate on trees and power lines.
Additional ice can cause limbs to snap and lines to sag or fail, leading to new outages even after earlier repairs are completed. Crews remain on standby as conditions continue to deteriorate in parts of the state.
