More than 1,300 workers will be at the ready to restore power to customers

CHICAGO (April 4, 2023) – Following last week's severe weather which produced 10 tornadoes in communities served by ComEd, the electric company reopened its Emergency Operations Center this morning as it readies equipment and mobilizes additional crews for another round of severe weather that could cause customers to lose power. Forecasts project heavy rain, hail, lightning, wind gusts of more than 40 miles per hour and more potential tornadoes in some areas starting today.

Following the damaging weekend storms, ComEd restored power to more than 90,000 customers, 80 percent of them within 24 hours. Much of the storm damage occurred in the Rockford area, which this new round of severe weather also may affect. ComEd has called in additional personnel and expects to have more than 1,300 workers on hand to quickly and safely restore power to customers.

"After a significant effort to restore our communities to normal, we are geared up for this next round of storms," said Dave Perez, senior vice-president of Distribution Operations, ComEd. "Back-to-back storms like these are becoming more frequent due to the impacts of climate change, and we appreciate our customers' patience as we work to restore power. Our crews will work around the clock to make repairs so we get the power flowing for any and every customer who experiences an outage."

ComEd has been investing in tree trimming and system upgrades to minimize the impact of storms. Since smart grid upgrades began in 2011, more than 19 million power outages have been avoided and overall reliability has improved by more than 80 percent. In 2022, ComEd had its best reliability on record.

"We continue to make investments to mitigate the impact of storms like those last weekend," said Perez. "Without that work, we likely would have seen many more customers lose service and longer restoration times."

When responding to power outages caused by storms, ComEd's priority is to restore critical facilities such as police and fire stations, nursing homes and hospitals first, followed by repairs that will restore power to the greatest number of customers.

Public safety is paramount, and ComEd encourages customers to take the following precautions:

• If a downed power line is spotted, 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 extremely dangerous and energized.
• 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.

ComEd urges customers to contact the company immediately if they experience a power outage. Customers can text OUT to 26633 (COMED) to report an 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 ComEd.com/report. Spanish-speaking customers should call 1-800-95-LUCES (1-800-955-8237). 

ComEd's mobile app for iPhone and Android® smart phones gives customers the ability to report power outages and manage their accounts; download the app at ComEd.com/app.

ComEd's interactive outage map at ComEd.com/map allows customers to easily find information on the location and size of outages and get estimated power restoration times.