AKRON, Ohio, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- High winds that moved through Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, February 11 and 12, interrupted electric service to approximately 390,000 customers of FirstEnergy Corp.'s Ohio Edison, Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (CEI) and Toledo Edison subsidiaries in Ohio; Pennsylvania Power (Penn Power), Pennsylvania Electric (Penelec) and Metropolitan Edison (Met-Ed) subsidiaries in Pennsylvania, and Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) in New Jersey. The high winds caused downed branches, trees and power lines throughout the region. Due to the extent of the damage, complete power restoration may extend into the weekend in some areas.
The hardest hit areas are around the cities of Ashtabula, Kinsman, Salem and Warren in Ohio, and around Altoona, Cranberry, Erie and Mercer in Pennsylvania. As of 10 a.m. Thursday, a total of approximately 165,000 customers remain out of service. By utility operating company, the outages and numbers restored are as follows:
-- Ohio Edison - 41,000 customers without service; restoration complete to
111,000
-- CEI - 50,000 customers without service; restoration complete to 18,000
-- Toledo Edison - 2,800 customers without service; restoration complete
to 16,800
-- Penn Power - 9,000 customers without service; restoration complete to
18,500
-- Penelec - 49,000 customers without service; restoration complete to
48,000
-- Met-Ed - 7,300 customers without service; restoration complete to 2,400
-- JCP&L - 6,000 customers without service; restoration complete to 11,000
While crews have already restored power to more than half of the customers affected, downed poles and wires still need repair in hundreds of locations. In addition, FirstEnergy utility customers may be affected by high winds that remain in parts of the company's service areas.
Customers are cautioned never to touch downed lines. Always assume downed wires are carrying electricity, and keep children and pets away from downed wires. Never try to remove trees or limbs from power lines because the trees and limbs could conduct electricity. Instead, customers should wait for emergency services or utility crews to arrive.
FirstEnergy urges customers to use the automated outage reporting line - 1-888-544-4877 (1-888-LIGHTSS) - to report any outages. Customers responding to downed lines are urged to follow the prompts or to report the downed lines to their local police or fire departments.
Tips for customers without power:
-- Call 1-888-544-4877 (1-888-LIGHTSS) to report your outage - it's the
fastest way to begin the restoration process.
-- Avoid opening the refrigerator or freezer. A full freezer can keep
food frozen for up to three days if it's kept closed.
-- Unplug major appliances until after the power has been restored. Keep
one light connected so you will know when the power is back on.
-- Never use a stove or oven to heat your home.
-- Burning candles should never be left unattended in a house.
-- Gasoline-powered generators should never be operated inside a home or
attached garage.
