Free water and ice available for customers
who remain without power
AKRON,
Ohio, Aug. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Power is
actively being restored around the clock to the approximately
194,500 FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) customers in Northeast Ohio who remain without service
following the severe thunderstorms, wind and tornados that swept
through the area on Tuesday. While restoration efforts are expected
to continue into next week, many customers will have power restored
well before that time.
Photos and video footage of damage and FirstEnergy crews
working across Northeast Ohio can
be viewed or downloaded here.
Key statistics from the event:
- More than 627,700 customers across FirstEnergy's footprint in
Ohio, Pennsylvania, West
Virginia, Maryland and
New Jersey lost power due to the
storm.
- Four confirmed tornados with winds between 100-110 mph struck
in the Illuminating Company and Ohio Edison service areas. In
addition, a wide area of damaging straight-line winds of 70-90 mph,
known as a macroburst, struck roughly 225 square miles in
Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties.
- More than 6,000 lineworkers, hazard responders, damage
assessors, forestry crews and other support personnel are assisting
the restoration effort. FirstEnergy will continue to move other
employees from across the company into Northeast Ohio as the threat from Tropical
Storm Debby passes.
- To date, more than 350 broken poles have been identified in
Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake
and Lorain counties. Crews are
actively replacing these poles, along with hanging hundreds of
spans of wire, as part of the restoration effort.
- Five staging sites have been set up across the greater
Cleveland area to handle the
influx of outside workers and help make the restoration process
more efficient.
- More than a dozen sites have been set up to provide free water
and ice to customers who remain without power. The full list of
sites is available online: Water and Ice Locations
(firstenergycorp.com).
Current outage updates as of 9:30
a.m. today include:
- The Illuminating Company: Approximately 322,000
Illuminating Company customers lost power from the storm, and
192,300 remain without power. Power will be restored to the vast
majority of customers by 11:30 p.m. on
Wednesday, Aug. 14.
- Ohio Edison: Power has been restored to 98% of the
approximately 118,100 Ohio Edison customers who lost power from the
storm. The remaining 2,200 customers without power are expected to
have service restored by 11 p.m. on
Saturday, Aug. 10.
As additional information about necessary repairs is understood,
more detailed ETRs will be provided. Customers can view their
current individual ETR for their particular outage by logging into
their account at firstenergycorp.com, texting STAT to 544487, or
viewing the outage map at firstenergycorp.com/outages.
FirstEnergy's Restoration Process:
FirstEnergy follows
a formal restoration process after severe weather, focusing on
repairs that will address the largest number of customers before
moving on to more isolated issues. The restoration effort typically
begins with transmission and substation facilities and then
prioritizes critical facilities like hospitals, communications and
emergency response agencies.
Additionally, hundreds of isolated issues affect individual or
small numbers of customers. These are the most time-consuming
repairs because they require our crews to go to each individual
location to make the repairs. Many of the isolated issues include
repairs to "service drops," which are wires attached to each home
to deliver electricity from the neighborhood power line. These
wires are often damaged by fallen trees and large branches.
For updated information on the company's current outages, storm
restoration process and tips for staying safe, visit FirstEnergy's
24/7 Power Center at firstenergycorp.com/outages. To learn more
about navigating the recently updated map, please visit
bit.ly/FEoutagemapupdates.
Generator Safety Reminder:
To ensure the safety of the
home's occupants as well as that of electric company employees who
may be working on power lines in the area, the proper generator
should be selected and installed by a qualified electrician.
When operating a generator, the power coming into the home
should always be disconnected. Otherwise, power from the generator
could be sent back onto the power lines, creating a hazardous
situation for company workers. Locate the generator outside of your
home and far away from windows, doors and vents. Never locate a
generator inside your home.
View additional generator safety information.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and
operational excellence. Its 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 approximately 24,000 miles of
transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
regions. Visit FirstEnergy online at firstenergycorp.com and
follow FirstEnergy and its operating companies on X, formerly known
as Twitter, @FirstEnergyCorp, @IlluminatingCo, @OhioEdison.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.