Chicago Hit by Multiple Severe Storms, ComEd Working to Restore Power

A fast-moving storm that swept through the Chicago area Sunday afternoon affected more than 95,000 ComEd customers. With more thunderstorms and severe weather expected to run into the early hours Monday, ComEd is working around the clock to restore power and is maintaining its Emergency Center Operations.

As of 11:30 p.m. Sunday, approximately 54,000 customers remained without power, with hardest areas in the north side of Chicago, and ComEd’s North Region, including north suburban Skokie and Rosemont areas. Additional crews are assisting in the restoration efforts, including the repair of power lines downed by high winds and clearing of trees and vegetation.

With continued heavy rain, lightning and high winds, ComEd is encouraging the public to remember to take the following safety precautions:

• If you encounter a downed power line, immediately call ComEd at 1-800-EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661) or access our website at ComEd.com and report the location. Spanish-speaking customers should call 1-800-95-LUCES (1-800-955-8237).
• Never approach a downed power line. Always assume a power line is energized and extremely dangerous.
• Check on elderly and other family members and neighbors to ensure their safety and make alternate arrangements in the event of an outage.
• If you are experiencing a power outage, do not wade into a flooded basement. Power may be restored while you are in the flooded basement and the motors on appliances may be submerged.
• Please stand clear of ComEd crews working to restore power. Broken tree limbs and power lines in the area can present a significant danger.

ComEd will continue to keep customers informed. Customers can also visit our Storm Center at ComEd.com/storm for updates as well as additional storm preparedness tips and outage information.

ComEd urges customers to contact the utility immediately if they are experiencing a power outage. Customers can text OUT to 26633 (COMED) to report their outage and receive restoration information.

ComEd also introduced a mobile app for iPhone and Android® smart phones, available in the app store for each platform, which gives customers the ability to report power outages and manage their accounts. In addition, customers can report outages through the website at ComEd.com or on ComEd’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/ComEd or by calling 1-800 EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661). Spanish-speaking customers should call 1-800-95-LUCES (1-800-955-8237).

For outage updates, customers can access ComEd’s mobile-enabled, interactive outage map now available at ComEd.com/map. The color-coded map allows customers to easily find information on the location and size of outages, get estimated power restoration times and crew locations. Information is updated every 30 minutes. Customers also can follow the company on Twitter @ComEd or on Facebook at Facebook.com/ComEd to stay up-to-date on the latest ComEd storm restoration information.

With passage of the Smart Grid law in 2011, ComEd embarked on a $2.6 billion program to modernize the power system in northern Illinois. Through investments that include smart switches that reroute power around potential problem areas, new storm hardening and vegetation management solutions, and cable replacement, in addition to the other ongoing programs. ComEd delivered record reliability in 2013-2014 – and then produced the best reliability in its history for the first half of 2015. ComEd remains focused on continuing to build on improvements, such as an enhanced damage assessment process, better coordination of vegetation management crews and improved material staging to ensure readiness during severe weather. ComEd is committed to helping our customers avoid storm outages and remaining to be among the top-performing utilities in the United States.

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with approximately 7.8 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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