Alabama Power President and CEO Charles McCrary today pledged that 99 percent of power will be restored in the Birmingham area by the end of the day Friday, with 99 percent of all Alabama Power customers back on by Sept. 7.
McCrary said power will be restored to 99 percent of customers who are able to accept service according to the following schedule:
*In Anniston and surrounding areas – restored by end of day today
*In Birmingham and surrounding areas – restored by end of day Friday
*In the Tuscaloosa area – restored by end of day Sunday
*In the Mobile area – restored by end of day Wednesday, Sept. 7.
The second-worst storm in company history in term of outages, Hurricane Katrina left a total of 636,891 Alabama Power customers without power at its peak. As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, 295,701 customers remained without power, with power restored to 53 percent of customers statewide.
As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, outages by division are as follows:
• Birmingham: 67,505
• Tuscaloosa: 57,780
• Mobile: 168,363
• Anniston: 2,053
Crews from utilities as far away as New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio and Oklahoma are joining Alabama Power in restoration efforts. Additional outside crews are limited however, as help is also needed in hard hit areas in Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida.
With the goals announced today, Alabama Power expects to have 99 percent of outages resulting from Katrina restored within nine days. In comparison, it took eight days to restore power following Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and 21 days to restore power following Hurricane Frederic in 1979.
McCrary said power will be restored to 99 percent of customers who are able to accept service according to the following schedule:
*In Anniston and surrounding areas – restored by end of day today
*In Birmingham and surrounding areas – restored by end of day Friday
*In the Tuscaloosa area – restored by end of day Sunday
*In the Mobile area – restored by end of day Wednesday, Sept. 7.
The second-worst storm in company history in term of outages, Hurricane Katrina left a total of 636,891 Alabama Power customers without power at its peak. As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, 295,701 customers remained without power, with power restored to 53 percent of customers statewide.
As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, outages by division are as follows:
• Birmingham: 67,505
• Tuscaloosa: 57,780
• Mobile: 168,363
• Anniston: 2,053
Crews from utilities as far away as New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio and Oklahoma are joining Alabama Power in restoration efforts. Additional outside crews are limited however, as help is also needed in hard hit areas in Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida.
With the goals announced today, Alabama Power expects to have 99 percent of outages resulting from Katrina restored within nine days. In comparison, it took eight days to restore power following Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and 21 days to restore power following Hurricane Frederic in 1979.