Power companies work nonstop to restore power after severe storms topple trees, power lines
PECO works nonstop to restore power after severe storms
After severe weather with straight-line winds ripped up trees pulling down power lines, PECO has been out nonstop working to bring power back to homes.
LAFAYETTE HILL, Pa. - The region’s energy giant, PECO, said it's working nonstop to return power to the tens of thousands of customers who went dark after Thursday night’s storm.
By the numbers:
In PECO’s command center in Plymouth Meeting, the number of customers without power flashes on a big screen. It’s early afternoon and just over 133,000 customers are "powerless" as workers, huddled over laptops, labor to restore the juice.
Ben Armstrong is a PECO spokesperson. He said, "This was a very impactful storm for our customers. In fact, more than 327,000 were left without power due to the damaging winds that came through our region Thursday afternoon."
What they're saying:
PECO Power Outage Map: How to check outages in your area
Thousands are still without power after fierce storms rolled across parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey on Thursday.
PECO reports that despite the storm lasting only an hour, the straight-line winds and driving rain played havoc with its equipment. In Layfette Hill, there was a light show at the corner of Cedar Place and Pine Ridge Drive, at the height of the storm, as tree limbs and a power line meet.
Armstrong said, "There are also many, many trees, whole trees, which are down across our service territory. When those trees come down, they often bring down power lines and damage equipment."
PECO said its added more than 1,400 additional workers to its repair crews, including teams from ComEd in Chicago. A PECO crew in Lafayette Hill gave a homeowner some peace of mind after he saw a problem near his roof.
Stephen Krause said, "We looked up at the power line and found the connection to the house had pulled away with a tree branch up there. Very dangerous."
Severe weather rips out trees, pulls power lines leaving thousands in the dark
From Philly to Cape May to Doylestown, severe thunderstorms crossed the region with high winds that ripped down trees and power lines, damaging all things in their path and causing an evacuation for safety of the outdoor concert being held on the Jersey shore.
Big picture view:
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Now that the Delaware Valley is seeing the first official day of summer, an Extreme Heat Watch has already been issued for nearly the entire region, as we are set to see a long-duration, dangerous heat wave.
PECO, with nearly 2 million electric customers across the region, said it’s working day and night to restore power.
It’s doing so as temperatures will rise through the 90s this weekend with big challenges still ahead.
Armstrong said, "We expect the vast majority of customers to be restored by Monday afternoon or Monday evening. We do know pockets of customers will take a little longer than that."