After significant snowstorms, which dropped 6 – 8 inches of wet, heavy snow, and recorded wind gusts of 55 MPH, moved through northern Illinois Friday morning, ComEd crews have restored power to more than 152,500 customers, approximately 99 percent of the 153,500 customers impacted by the storm. The hardest hit areas were Chicago and the northern areas of Illinois.
Approximately 900 customers remain without power due to the storm as of 5:00 am while 1,700 ComEd and contractor utility workers continue to work around the clock to restore service to all remaining customers as quickly and safely as possible. ComEd expects that remaining customers will be restored by Saturday evening, January 13.
Climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of severe weather. ComEd has been investing in power grid upgrades and tree trimming to minimize the impact of storms. Since smart grid upgrades began in 2011, ComEd has avoided more than 19 million power outages—saving more than $3.3 billion in outage-related costs—and improved overall reliability by more than 70 percent.
ComEd prioritizes repairs that will bring back the greatest number of customers at once, and focuses on critical services, such as hospitals, senior centers, law enforcement and fire departments. Crews then move to restoration of individual outages.
The following tips and information encourage customers to stay safe following severe weather:
- If you encounter a downed power line, immediately call ComEd at 1-800-EDISON-1 (1-800-334-7661).
- 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.
Customers can sign up for Outage Alerts at ComEd.com/Alerts or text OUT to 26633 to report their outage and receive restoration information about when their power may be restored.
ComEd also offers a mobile app for iPhone® and Android® smart phones that gives customers the ability to report power outages and manage their accounts. In addition, customers can report outages through ComEd’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 250 energy company with approximately 10 million electricity and natural gas customers – the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 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, Instagram and YouTube.
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