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More than 400,000 ComEd customers affected by Monday's powerful storm
[July 01, 2014]

More than 400,000 ComEd customers affected by Monday's powerful storm


CHICAGO --(Business Wire)--

ComEd has restored approximately 257,000 customers after storms with hurricane force winds swept through the ComEd territory on Monday night, knocking out power to more than 400,000 customers. Lightning and winds in excess of 75 mph caused widespread damage, bringing down power lines and trees and causing severe damage. Currently, approximately 147,000 customers remain without service. ComEd has mobilized roughly 760 ComEd and contract crews to restore power as quickly and safely as possible to those affected. In addition, the utility secured additional resources from nine other states - including Kansas, Tennessee and Massachusetts.

ComEd's South region was hardest hit, with approximately 134,000 customers currently out of power. Chicago has 7,000 customers without power. The West region has 5,700 customers without power while outages in the North region are affecting approximately 600 customers.

Based on past storms of a similar magnitude, the company currently estimates that the remaining customers will have their service restored by late Thursday night, with the exception of some pockets in hardest hit areas.

ComEd's restoration process begins immediately with damage assessment. This process enables the company to determine hardest hit areas and establish restoration times. The company then prioritizes outage restoration to ensure public safety first such as police and fire, followedby hospitals and other critical customers such as pumping stations. ComEd then restores feeders, which allows the company to return power to the largest 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 (News - Alert) 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.

To report an outage, customers can call 1-800 EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661), or report it through the web site - ComEd.com. Customers also can follow @ComEd on Twitter or Facebook (News - Alert) to stay up to date on the latest ComEd info.


Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation's leading competitive energy provider, with approximately 6.6 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.


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