More than 90 percent of customers restored

CHICAGO (Nov. 27, 2018) – ComEd crews are working around the clock, aided by employees and contractors from ComEd's sister utilities on the East Coast and others, to accelerate restoration of power to customers affected by the storm that dumped up to 13 inches of wet heavy snow and produced wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour in the area Sunday night and Monday morning. The storm at one point impacted about 340,000 customers in ComEd's northern Illinois region, and crews have safely restored power to 315,000 or more than 90 percent of impacted customers.   

Approximately 1,200 ComEd employees and contractors are working to restore service to customers. In addition, more than 780 additional employees and contractors from ComEd sister utilities BGE, PECO and Pepco Holdings as well as crews from other utilities as far away as Oklahoma and Florida are assisting. ComEd is a frequent provider of mutual assistance, having sent crews to Puerto Rico to assist in restoring power to the island, and it's rare that Illinois' largest energy company seeks assistance from other companies. All told, more than 2,000 people will be working to restore service to ComEd customers.

"The nature of this storm, with extremely wet and heavy snow combined with high winds that snapped trees, power lines and poles, makes restoration challenging, and we're grateful for the support of our Exelon utilities and others who have responded to our call, so that we can return customers to service as quickly and safely as possible," said Terence R. Donnelly, president and chief operating officer. "ComEd's number one priority is safely restoring service to customers who remain without power, and we are actively working to have the vast majority of all affected customers restored by Wednesday. Given the widespread damage resulting from falling trees and downed power lines, we can't emphasize enough how important it is that customers report their outages to us as this will help expedite restoration." 

Some areas that experienced the greatest damage and single customer outages may take longer.  ComEd expects that all customers will be restored by Thursday night. When restoring customers, ComEd focuses first on critical services, such as first responders, hospitals and senior centers. The company then prioritizes work that will restore the greatest number of customers at a time.

The storm caused extensive damage to trees, power poles and brought down multiple powerlines which resulted in outages. The hardest hit communities include Arlington Heights, Palatine and Villa Park.

Currently, approximately 25,000 customers are without service.

Public safety is paramount during storms, and ComEd encourages people to take the following precautions:

• If you encounter a downed power line, immediately call ComEd at 1-800-EDISON1 (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.
• In the event of an outage, do not approach ComEd crews working to restore power to ask about restoration times. Crews may be working on live electrical equipment and the perimeter of the work zone may be hazardous.
• Do not shovel snow onto ComEd equipment.

ComEd urges customers to contact the company immediately if they experience a power outage. Customers can text OUT to 26633 (COMED) to report their outage and receive restoration information, and can follow the company on Twitter @ComEd or on Facebook at Facebook.com/ComEd. Customers can also call 1-800 EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661), or report outages via the website at www.comed.com/report. Spanish-speaking customers should call 1-800-95-LUCES (1-800-955-8237).

ComEd has an interactive outage map on its website at www.comed.com/map, which allows customers to easily find information on the location and size of outages and get estimated power restoration times. Additionally, ComEd has introduced a mobile app for iPhone and Android® smart phones that gives customers the ability to report power outages and manage their accounts; download the app at www.comed.com/app.