UPDATED: Highland County residents suffer major power outage; AEP expects some restoration by Sunday morning
By Caitlin Ryan
The Highland County Press
Nearly 6,000 Highland County homes and businesses lost power Saturday, June 6, as AEP reported a major outage.
According to the Highland County Sheriff’s Office, AEP experienced a fire at the Dunlap Road substation on Saturday morning, causing 5,803 Highland County residents to lose power.
The Highland County Sheriff’s Office reports that the substation is being inspected by AEP employees.
“Nine transformers blew up on Dunlap Road and caught fire,” Highland County Sheriff Donnie Barrera told The Highland County Press. “They haven’t found a cause yet.”
Barrera said he was told the outage could last at least a day.
“They told us at first it was going to be until 10 a.m., and now it’s possibly a day or so,” Barrera said.
AEP customers have reported to The Highland County Press that they have been told electricity would be restored at approximately 9 a.m. Sunday, June 7.
Hillsboro was virtually empty into the early afternoon hours Saturday – the first Saturday of the month, which is a traditional shopping day. Most local stores and banks were closed due to the power outage. The outage also affected the stores and restaurants on Harry Sauner Road.
The Highland County Press office was open briefly Saturday, but closed due to the outage. Reporters are updating the website throughout the day, including from the Ohio high school state track and field meet in Columbus.
Motorists are reminded that intersections with non-functional traffic signals become a four-way stop.
In addition, Sheriff Barrera requests that for non-emergency calls, residents should use the (937) 393-2212 telephone number, as the sheriff’s office is experiencing some telephone issues.
AEP has made automated calls to customers saying that electricity may not be completely restored for all county residents by Sunday morning.
AEP also recommends that residents who are dependent upon electricity for medical reasons make other arrangements. The next AEP automated call is expected at 8 p.m. Saturday.
AEP told The Highland County Press Saturday evening that its projected restoration of service is June 7 at 9 a.m.
AEP added: “Please note that this time is subject to change. We regret any frustration this situation has caused and ask for your continued patience and understanding during the restoration process.
“In many areas, crews must rebuild significant portions of electric facilities to restore power. When service is restored to larger areas, this may still leave scattered outages in the area due to a fuse on the transformer that serves an individual location(s) being tripped or damaged or the primary line feeding the transformer could be damaged.
“Additional resources from other electric utilities and utility contractors from several states are assisting our crews with the power restoration effort. We will continue to work diligently until all service has been restored.”