Thursday night's storm knocked power out for about 4,000 AEP customers in West Virginia--certainly a smaller number than the one following the June 29 derecho.
But AEP spokesman Phil Moye said he would describe the regional power grid as "fragile," considering the line of storms that hit the region over the past month.
On Friday morning, the worst hit area in Kanawha County from this most recent storm was Mount Alpha Road near Kanawha City.
Residents said outages are so common now, they've almost become a part of life.
"It's just frustrating not being able to go into a room and flip a light switch on," said Virginia Hansford, whose entire neighborhood off Mount Alpha Road lost power.
Hansford said that Friday was the longest period she had lost power since June 29. Due to the area's hilly and forested landscape, trees commonly knock down utility poles.
She added that even smaller thunderstorms make the electricity flicker.
But Moye said the worst has passed for AEP customers.
"We've seen some fallout from the June 29 storm. Trees that were damaged are now falling and causing new damages," he said.
Moye explained there's little residents can do to prevent outages, but he said AEP took away some important lessons from the derecho: be prepared.
"We're getting crews in place," Moye said. "Calling for crews outside the area to have them come in and help us out.
Out-of-state crews actually were in the area on Tuesday to restore power. According to Moye, 88 stayed for Thursday's storm.
He added that in a way, the downed trees actually help to expedite repairs to the power grid.
"You hate to see a tree fall, but we'd rather have it fall and cause an outage so we can get done with it," Moye said. "And then we can get back to normal."
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