SWEPCO outages increase to more than 27,000 overnight

SHREVEPORT, La. – Work continues to get the lights back on for thousands of SWEPCO customers who lost power late Monday and early Tuesday. Due to the storms that brought damaging winds and intense lightning to much of the area, SWEPCO has activated an all-in response to restore electric service to impacted customers. Damage assessors report widespread damage with downed power lines and fallen trees and limbs throughout the area. Additional crews from SWEPCO’s Fayetteville district and SWEPCO’s sister operating companies, AEP Texas and Public Service of Oklahoma, have been requested to help restore service to our communities as safely and quickly as possible. As of 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, approximately 27,000 customers across the region were without power. That's almost double the number reported Tuesday afternoon. At the peak of the storm’s impact, about 27,000 customers were without power. More severe weather is forecasted for the region. Continued heavy rainfall and intense lightning could impact restoration efforts due to lineworker safety. Most of the outages appear to be in Caddo, Bossier, DeSoto, Sabine, and Natchitoches parishes. There are also scattered outages in northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas. Click here to connect with SWEPCO and see a real-time map of outages in the area.