More than 2,700 American Electric Power Company customers in Athens were without power Friday afternoon, according to the company's power outage reporting system.
AEP also listed Athens the county with the most customers without power in their coverage area. About 10 percent of the county was without power as of 5 p.m.
Still, Ohio University’s facilities were unaffected by the weather, said Katie Quaranta, OU communications specialist.
“We haven’t had any reports of power outages on campus,” she said.
The rain will likely continue to pour in Athens through the night, according to the National Weather Service.
This isn't the first time Athens has been one of the hardest hit counties following a rough storm.
Last summer, more than 60 percent of Athens County was without power following a storm that put Ohio in a state of emergency by Gov. John Kasich.
A “derecho” storm – a long-lived, straight-line windstorm traveling 60 miles per hour, covering 260 miles and associated with severe thunderstorms – plowed through southeastern Ohio in June, resulting in power outages across the area and leaving thousands of residents without air conditioning in the brutal hundred-degree temperatures.
Councilman Jeff Risner, D-2nd Ward, was critical of the city’s lack of preparation for a long-term power outage, though Ron Lucas, the city's deputy service-safety director, said the city didn't have the funds.
AEP expects power to return to all Athens County residents by 7 p.m. Friday, said Renee Shumate, community affairs manager for AEP Ohio.
“AEP crews responded to outages as soon as the immediate storm passed and will work until power is restored,” Shumate said.
Friday’s power outage pales in comparison to the damage caused by last summer’s derecho, Shumate said.
“This is not a major outage,” she said.
The power outages are primarily with First Energy clients, Shumate said, but the two companies’ workers are coordinating to turn power back on.
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