Appalachian Power Sending Hundreds to Florida, Georgia

9/12/2017

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Appalachian Power says it’s sending hundreds of employees and contract workers to Florida and Georgia to help areas affected by Hurricane Irma.

The utility says more than 120 employees are departing Tuesday for Georgia, and more than 260 employees and contract workers will go to Florida to assist in recovery. The workers are going in response to a request for assistance from Georgia Power and Tampa Electric officials.

Appalachian Power said in a news release that some electric utilities are reporting major infrastructure damage and more than 90 percent of their customers without power.

Appalachian Power has 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee. It is a unit of American Electric Power.