Working around the clock, PECO crews, contractors and other support
personnel from throughout the country and Canada have restored service
to more than 553,000 of the 715,000 customers affected by the second
most damaging storm in company history in terms of customer outages.
Although significant progress has been made to restore service to those
affected by Wednesday’s storm, approximately 162,000 customers remain
without service. PECO understands this is a hardship for our customers,
and we will continue to work until service is restored to each and every
customer.
Wednesday’s storm caused extensive damage to trees, tree limbs and
electrical equipment. The restoration process has been a monumental
effort. More than 5,000 PECO employees, contractors and utility workers
from as far away as Arkansas, Canada, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York,
New Jersey and Ohio and PECO’s Chicago-based sister utility ComEd, are
working non-stop to repair damage and restore service to the region.
PECO urges customers to stay safe and always stay away from any
storm-damaged electrical equipment, especially downed power lines and
tree limbs that may come into contact with power lines. Always consider
that downed electrical wires are energized and report them to the
company immediately.
As work continues, customers should take precautions for their safety –
taking advantage of local warming centers and shelters or making other
arrangements to stay safe. It also is a good opportunity to check on
neighbors, friends, the elderly and others who may be without service.
Exercise caution when using generators to power your home and never use
a generator, grill or other similar devices indoors or in an attached
garage. Read and adhere to the manufacturer’s instructions for safe
operation and be sure not to overload the generator.
Based in Philadelphia, PECO is an electric and natural gas utility
subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC). PECO serves 1.6
million electric and 497,000 natural gas customers in southeastern
Pennsylvania and employs about 2,400 people in the region. PECO
delivered 76.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 37.5 billion
kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2012. Founded in 1881, PECO is
one of the Greater Philadelphia Region's most active corporate citizens,
providing leadership, volunteer and financial support to numerous arts
and culture, education, environmental, economic development and
community programs and organizations. Stay updated with PECO on social
media on Twitter @PECOConnect and Facebook www.facebook.com/pecoconnect.
If you are a member of the media and would like to receive PECO news
releases via e-mail, please send your e-mail address to PECO.Communication@exeloncorp.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2014