Roanoke, Va., August 17, 2004 – Appalachian Power employees from Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee are in Florida today helping restore electricity to areas devastated by Hurricane Charley. Electric utility Florida Power and Light asked for assistance in the wake of the hurricane. Appalachian responded by sending more than 100 of its own workers, and releasing an additional 250 line and tree-trimming contract workers.  

 "This disaster left more than a million customers without power and caused extensive damage to Florida´s electric distribution system. Although it means our workload will be temporarily shouldered by fewer workers here, sending crews to help in Florida is just the right thing to do," said Gene Jensen, vice president of distribution for Appalachian.  

Electric utilities such as Appalachian and Florida Power and Light operate under a mutual assistance agreement, in which utilities agree to help one another following catastrophic events that impact electric service.
Crews will initially help restore service to Florida Power and Light customers in and around the Daytona Beach area, and will then move west to other heavily damaged areas. Appalachian estimates employees may be part of the restoration effort for as much as two weeks.

Appalachian Power provides electricity to 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee. It is a unit of American Electric Power.  AEP owns more than 36,00 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States and is the nation´s largest electricity generator. AEP is also one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with more than 5 million customers linked to AEP´s 11-state electricity transmission and distribution grid.