Service has been restored to more than 658,900 FirstEnergy Corp. customers who lost power due to a powerful wind storm that continues to sweep through the Mid-Atlantic region.

Sustained winds of nearly 40 mph, coupled with gusts exceeding 60 mph, began battering Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and western Pennsylvania early yesterday morning.  Eastern parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey are receiving the brunt of the winds today.

Since the storm began, repairs have been made at hundreds of locations, and crews are working around the clock to assess damage and restore service to approximately 202,700 customers who remain without power in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey.  Approximately 1,300 additional contractor line workers as well as hazard responders are being deployed to assist Ohio Edison, Penn Power, The Illuminating Company, West Penn Power, Potomac Edison, Mon Power and Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) personnel with restoration efforts.  The company is also requesting additional line workers through its memberships in utility mutual assistance organizations.

“As the wind storm crossed our service territory, we’ve seen thousands of instances of downed wires, broken poles and crossarms, and damaged transformers caused by trees and other debris contacting our electrical equipment,” said Samuel L. Belcher, senior vice president and president of FirstEnergy Utilities.  “Though repair work can be slowed by the continued high winds and numerous road closures, we will continue to work around the clock to safely make repairs and deploy resources as needed until power to all customers has been restored.”

Current company updates as of 1:30 p.m. today include:

  • Penn Power: Approximately 27,700 customers in western Pennsylvania lost power due to the storm, and 5,500 remain without service. The majority of customers are expected to be restored by 4 p.m. Thursday.
  • Penelec: Approximately 114,900 customers in northern and central Pennsylvania lost power due to the storm, and 11,700 remain without service. The majority of customers are expected to be restored by midnight Wednesday.
  • West Penn Power: Approximately 128,300 customers in western Pennsylvania lost power due to the storm, and 55,700 remain without service. Estimated restoration times will be established as damage assessment progresses.
  • Metropolitan Edison (Met-Ed): Approximately 38,500 customers in eastern Pennsylvania have lost power due to the storm, and 9,900 remain without service. Additional outages could occur today as the winds move through the area. Based on current outages, the majority of customers are expected to be restored by 4 p.m. tomorrow.

For updated information on the company’s current outages, FirstEnergy’s storm restoration process and tips for staying safe, visit the 24/7 Power Center at www.firstenergycorp.com/outages. 

Customers who are without power are encouraged to call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877) to report their outage or click the “Report Outage” link on www.firstenergycorp.com. 

FirstEnergy customers also can subscribe to email and text message alert notifications to receive billing reminders, weather alerts in advance of major storms, and updates on scheduled or extended power outages.  Customers can also use two-way text messaging to report outages, request updates on restoration efforts, and make other inquiries about their electric accounts.  More information about these communications tools is available online at www.firstenergycorp.com/connect.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.