READING, Pa., March 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 750 line workers are in Metropolitan Edison Company's (Met-Ed) eastern Pennsylvania service area restoring electric service to customers who lost power following the massive winter storm that pounded the entire Mid-Atlantic and New England region over the weekend.
About 200,000 customers have been restored since the storm first hit. Currently, approximately 35,000 customers remain out of service, with the most damage being in the Easton and Stroudsburg areas that were hit with 60 mph winds and more than a foot of heavy wet snow.
Met-Ed expects the majority of customers to be restored to service by late tonight. However, customers in the hardest hit areas of Monroe, Northampton and Pike counties will be restored by late Wednesday night.
"Along with the line workers, damage assessors, hazard responders, forestry personnel, dispatchers and contractors are also involved in this massive restoration effort," said Ed Shuttleworth, regional president of Met-Ed. "We will continue to work around the clock to get the lights back on for our customers."
To handle the influx of outside workers and help make the restoration process more effective, Met-Ed has set up staging sites in Easton, East Stroudsburg and Saylorsburg.
As part of its storm restoration process, Met-Ed has taken the following steps:
- Ramped up storm updates on social media and on the company website. Follow Met-Ed on Twitter @Met Ed and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MetEdElectric.
- Aired radio ads telling customers how to prepare for storms
- Initiated update calls with officials
- Communicated with emergency management, officials, state officials, regulators, and local officials about storm restoration efforts
- Staffed additional dispatchers and analysts at regional dispatch offices
Met-Ed also is offering free water & ice to customers remaining out of service. Customers can pick up water & ice at the following locations:
- Giant Food Store, 3560 Route 611 Stroudsburg, PA, 18321
- Giant Food Store, 837 Male Road, Windgap, PA, 18091
- Giant Food Store, 859 Nazareth Pike, Nazareth, PA 18064
Met-Ed reminds customers to immediately report downed wires to their utility at 888-LIGHTSS (888-544-4877), or to their local police or fire department. Customers should never go near a downed wire even if they think it is no longer carrying electricity. Extra caution should be used in areas where downed lines are tangled in trees or other debris.
Met-Ed, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), serves approximately 560,000 customers in 15 Pennsylvania counties. Follow Met-Ed on Twitter @Met Ed and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MetEdElectric.
FirstEnergy is 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 Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Visit FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and follow on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.