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Restoration Efforts Complete for More Than 2.1 Million FirstEnergy Customers Affected by Hurricane Sandy

^{Published on 2012-11-07 14:01:50 - Market Wire}
 

Restoration Efforts Complete for More Than 2.1 Million FirstEnergy Customers Affected by... -- AKRON, Ohio, Nov. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

AKRON, Ohio, Nov. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy (NYSE: [ FE ]) utilities have restored service to more than 2.1 million of the 2.3 million customers across its six-state service territory who lost power following Hurricane Sandy last week. Most of the 199,000 FirstEnergy customers in New Jersey and West Virginia who remain without power will be restored by the end of this weekend.

As part of the largest storm restoration effort in the company's history, more than 19,000 FirstEnergy employees, outside contractors and utility workers teamed to restore service after Hurricane Sandy's severe winds and precipitation left thousands of downed trees and branches, significant flooding and, in some areas, heavy snow in its wake. More than 595 miles of cable and wire, 23,000 crossarms, 7,200 utility poles and 3,200 transformers have been used as part of the massive restoration effort.

Across FirstEnergy's utilities, wide-reaching Hurricane Sandy affected 1.2 million Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) customers in New Jersey; 423,000 customers of Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (CEI), Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison in Ohio; 397,000 customers of Metropolitan Edison (Met-Ed), Pennsylvania Electric Company (Penelec), West Penn Power and Penn Power in Pennsylvania; 201,000 Mon Power customers in West Virginia; and 150,000 Potomac Edison customers in Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

While outage restoration work is now complete in most FirstEnergy service territories, steady, around-the-clock restoration efforts continue in New Jersey and West Virginia.

JCP&L's best forecast is that the remaining 177,000 customers will be restored by Saturday, November 10. There may be isolated pockets of customers located in inaccessible areas or who have individual flooding or downed line issues that will take longer.

In West Virginia, damage caused by high winds and deep snow has hindered the restoration process in the higher elevations. The majority of the remaining 19,000 Mon Power customers are expected to be restored by midnight Friday. Restoration for customers in the most heavily damaged areas, including parts of Barbour, Braxton, Clay, Nicholas, Preston, Randolph, Tucker, Upshur and Webster counties, may continue into the weekend.

As restoration continues, FirstEnergy utilities are monitoring changing weather conditions today as a nor'easter affects the east coast. The storm has the potential to slow restoration efforts or cause new outages. However, safety permitting, personnel already in place will continue to work through the storm.

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 ].

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 also are providing updates via Twitter [ @JCP_L ] and [ @MonPowerWV ].

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.