ComEd Restores More Than 75 Percent of Affected Customers Earlier Than Expected After Worst Storm in a Decade

CHICAGO, July 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of a devastating storm that knocked out power to nearly a quarter of its customers Monday morning, ComEd today announced that it had restored power to 77 percent of customers as of early Wednesday morning. ComEd reached its goal of restoring power to 75 percent of customers at least 10 hours earlier than expected.

ComEd restored power to nearly half a million customers in the first 24 hours after the storm's aftermath and expects to have 90 percent of affected customers restored by midnight on Thursday and 99 percent restored by midnight on Friday.

"We know how disruptive power outages can be for our customers' lives and livelihoods," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Frank M. Clark. "We will use all available resources in order to shorten the outage duration for customers remaining without power."

Working day and night, ComEd restored approximately 675,000 customers as of 6 a.m. today.  More than 850,000 customers have been affected, making this one of the worst storm in terms of damage and customer impact, in the company's history.

Remarkable in its brevity and force, the storm brought 18,000 lightning strikes and wind gusts of 80 mph causing extensive tree damage and bringing down power lines. The resulting outages are more difficult and time consuming to restore as they involve attention to more individualized equipment.

"Our crews have done an amazing job in swiftly restoring nearly half a million customers in just over 24 hours," said Anne Pramaggiore, president and chief operating officer, ComEd. "The crews are working on 16-hours shifts and throughout the night to restore power as quickly and safely as possible."

ComEd currently has approximately 700 crews in the field including mutual support from utilities in Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Additional crews arrived today from Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee. More crews from Alabama and Georgia are expected to arrive over the next couple of days with the number of non-ComEd crews peaking at 370 on Friday.

The company also has enlisted additional staffing and an outside service to manage the large volume of calls experienced by the customer call center. Customers also can visit ComEd.com to report outages and follow us on Twitter 24/7 to obtain system status information.

The largest number of outages is located in the company's northern and western regions. ComEd is working closely with municipal officials and businesses to provide ongoing updates to them regarding restoration efforts. ComEd has dedicated regional crews to downed wires, traffic signals and other municipal priorities. Hardest hit towns are Waukegan, Gurnee, Crystal Lake and Round Lake Beach.

ComEd's restoration process begins with damage assessment, this process enables the company to determine hardest hit areas and factors into restoration times. The company then prioritizes outage restoration to ensure public safety first such as police and fire, then hospitals and other critical customers. Next, ComEd restores feeders, which allows us to return power to large numbers of customers at one time, followed by smaller service restorations and individual outages.

Public safety is paramount during storms and ComEd encourages the public to remember to take the following precautions:

• If you encounter a downed power line, immediately call ComEd at 1-800-EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661) or access our website at ComEd.com and report the location. Spanish-speaking customers should call 1-800-95-LUCES (1-800-955-8237). Customers also can visit Twitter for restoration updates.
• Never approach a downed power line. Always assume a power line is energized and extremely dangerous.
• Check on elderly and other sensitive family members and neighbors to ensure their safety and make alternate arrangements, as it may be some time before their power is restored.

ComEd also offers the following suggestions for customers experiencing a prolonged outage:

• Turn off all appliances including your furnace, water heater, and water pump.
• Leave a lamp on so you can know when power has been restored.
• Keep freezer and refrigerator doors closed and open them only when necessary. Food will stay frozen for 36 to 48 hours in a fully loaded freezer, if the door remains closed. A half-full freezer will generally keep food frozen for 24 hours.
• Customers who are on medical support equipment are strongly encouraged to evacuate to a place where they can be comfortable and safe.

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), one of the nation's largest electric utilities with approximately 5.4 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population. 

SOURCE ComEd

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