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Service Restored to 1.2 Million FirstEnergy Utility Customers Following Hurricane Sandy

^{Published on 2012-11-01 17:01:57 - Market Wire}
 

Service Restored to 1.2 Million FirstEnergy Utility Customers Following Hurricane Sandy -- AKRON, Ohio, Nov. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

AKRON, Ohio, Nov. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: [ FE ]) utilities Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L), Metropolitan Edison (Met-Ed), The Illuminating Company (CEI), Mon Power, and Potomac Edison are making progress restoring power to customers following Hurricane Sandy.  The devastating storm left more than 2.3 million of the companies' customers without power.  Service has been restored to 1.2 million customers.

More than 15,000 FirstEnergy employees, along with additional contractors and neighboring utility crews, are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore power to customers.  Crews will continue to work around the clock in 16-hour shifts until the process is completed. 

Across areas of FirstEnergy's service territory impacted by the storm, workers are responding to thousands of reports of downed wires and damaged equipment.  To date, material issued for the restoration effort includes more than 95 miles of wire, 700 utility poles and 5,400 crossarms and transformers. 

Customers are advised to exercise extreme caution and assume all downed power lines are energized and dangerous.

Based on current damage assessments, the following estimated restoration times have been established:

• JCP&L– More than 370,000 customers have been restored, down from a total of 1.2 million customers affected by the storm.  The majority of remaining customers will be restored by next Wednesday, November 7.  Customers in the hardest-hit areas can expect to be restored in an additional seven days from that date.

• Metropolitan Edison (Met-Ed)– Approximately 160,000 customers have been restored at this time, down from a total of more than 250,000 affected.  Ninety-five percent of the remaining customers will be restored by late Saturday, with the remainder restored by early next week. 

• The Illuminating Company (CEI)– Approximately 200,000 customers have been restored at this time, down from a peak of approximately 280,000.  Restoration estimates for the remaining customers are:
  • Solon area – Friday evening
  • Ashtabula County, Lake County and eastern suburbs including Euclid, Mayfield, Pepper Pike– midnight Sunday
  • Cleveland and west and southwest suburbs – midnight Monday

• Mon Power – More than 120,000 of 200,000 customers affected by the storm have been restored.  Heavy snow and low clouds continue to challenge damage assessment and repairs.  While the majority of affected customers in counties served by Mon Power are expected to be restored by the middle of next week, customers in the hardest-hit areas might not be fully restored until the end of next week.

• Potomac Edison – More than 125,000 of the 150,000 affected Potomac Edison customers have been restored.  Estimated restoration times for the remaining customers are:
  • West Virginia customers – midnight Saturday
  • Maryland customers – Saturday evening, except Garrett County, which was particularly hard hit and requires further assessment
  • Pennsylvania customers – midnight Saturday

FirstEnergy's restoration process is designed to restore power safely and efficiently for affected customers.  Crews are focused on responding to hazardous situations and high-priority damage locations, including the transmission and substation facilities that supply power for local distribution systems.  Priority is also given to hospitals, critical care and life support facilities, communications facilities, emergency response agencies and circuits serving the largest number of customers, followed by restoration of service to individual homes.

Customers 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 ].  In addition, customers should immediately report downed wires to their electric company or local police or fire department.  Never go near a downed power line, even if you think it's no longer carrying electricity, and don't try to remove trees or tree limbs from power lines.  Wait for utility crews to arrive.

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 ].  JCP&L customers can find the latest information on Facebook at [ www.facebook.com/JCPandL ].  FirstEnergy operating companies will also provide updates via Twitter:

• JCP&L: [ @JCP_L ]
• Met-Ed: [ @Met_Ed ]
• Potomac Edison: [ @PotomacEdison ]
• Mon Power: [ @MonPowerWV ]
• The Illuminating Company: [ @IlluminatingCo ]

FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence.  Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and West Virginia.  Its generation subsidiaries control more than 20,000 megawatts of capacity from a diversified mix of scrubbed coal, non-emitting nuclear, natural gas, hydro, pumped-storage hydro and other renewables.  Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.