Columbus Urban League helping AEP customers apply for reimbursement up to $500

Courtesy of NBC 4
By Jonathan Jackson
June 24, 2022

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Thousands of Central Ohioans who went without power are still recovering from last week’s outages.

AEP is working with the Columbus Urban League (CUL) to reimburse those individuals through an online application on the CUL website.

Those who apply have the chance to receive up to $500 for any lost goods or additional costs from the outage.

“Some of our food spoiled, a lot of things unthawed, the kids were irritable, we tried to check into hotels, all the hotels were sold out,” said Toni Fisher, a local mother from Linden.

Fisher says the outage not only added to her family’s expenses, but also forced her to miss work to take care of her children. She says any type of compensation would help.

“To hear about a $500 stipend or check, that would be amazing,” said Fisher.

The AEP Foundation is providing the Columbus Urban League with $300,000 in grants. The CUL plans to request more funding if the need continues.

“Yesterday, we had over 300 calls,” said Stephanie Hightower, president and CEO of the Columbus Urban League.

Hightower says since yesterday, they’ve been inundated with calls and have received over 1,300 applications on their website. She says those who wish to apply can do so in-person or online. Those who apply can choose how to receive the funds, either through a Visa Gift Card, direct deposit or mailed check.

“This is what the Columbus Urban League was built for, when there are crises, when there are situations, where we need to quickly adapt to the situation,” said Hightower.

The Columbus Urban League is closing their requests for reimbursement by 12:00 a.m. Friday. It’s a first come, first served basis.