CHICAGO, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a series of destructive thunderstorms that downed power lines and severely damaged electrical equipment, ComEd crews have restored service to more than 370,000 customers and are continuing work to restore an additional 222,000 customers who remain without power. Despite a massive restoration effort, damage to ComEd's system is so severe that many of our customers are likely to be out of service for multiple days.
ComEd continues to assess the damage from the recent storms, which have been among the most powerful in the last few years. Broken poles, downed or snapped wires, and trees that uprooted and fell on equipment are among the challenges that crews are facing. Before power can be restored, crews must clear trees from wires, replace poles and transformers, and string miles of new wire. Downed trees, flooding, and traffic problems also are impeding crews' access to electrical equipment.
ComEd is using every resource at its disposal including additional reinforcement from other utilities. ComEd is deploying 720 crews into the field, working 16-hour shifts, including 192 tree-trimming crews and 230 crews from other utilities and ComEd's Philadelphia-based sister utility PECO. ComEd also has deployed hundreds of patrollers and damage assessment coordinators in the field to assess the full extent of the damage to the system.
"This series of storms has been the worst we've seen in the past 10 years," said ComEd Chairman and CEO Frank M. Clark. "As always, restoring power safely and quickly is our top priority. However, bringing all of our customers back to service will take several days. Our crews are performing incredibly well, but due to the destructive nature of these storms, we expect additional outages may occur as weakened trees and branches continue to come into contact with our power lines."
ComEd's emergency operations centers will remain open until all storm-related outages are restored and damage repaired. At the peak of the storms, more than 310,000 ComEd customers were without power, and over the course of the event, more than 500,000 customers have been affected.
"We greatly appreciate our customers' patience during this massive clean-up and restoration effort," Clark said. "We recognize that an outage of any duration is an inconvenience to our customers, and we are using every available resource to restore service as quickly as possible to our customers."
Public safety is paramount. Anyone seeing a downed power line is urged to immediately call ComEd at 1-800-EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661) and report the location. Spanish-speaking customers should call 1-800-95-LUCES (1-800-955-8237). Never approach a downed power line. Always presume a power line is energized and extremely dangerous. Check on elderly and other sensitive family members and neighbors to ensure their safety and make alternate arrangements, as it may be some time before their power is restored.
ComEd also offers the following suggestions for customers experiencing a prolonged outage:
-- Turn off all appliances including your furnace, water heater, and water pump. -- Leave a lamp on so you can know when power has been restored. -- Keep freezer and refrigerator doors closed and open them only when necessary. Food will stay frozen for 36 to 48 hours in a fully loaded freezer, if the door remains closed. A half-full freezer will generally keep food frozen for 24 hours. -- Customers who are on medical support equipment are strongly encouraged to evacuate to a place where they can be comfortable and safe.
Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation , one of the nation's largest electric utilities with approximately 5.2 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across Northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population.
