Winter Storm Fern moved across the United States this past week, bringing freezing rain, heavy snowfall, and dangerous travel conditions to much of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. It was continuing to impact the Northeast with additional snow and ice this morning.
As of 10:00 a.m. ET, approximately 800,000 electricity customers across 10 states were without power due to Fern, according to Edison Electric Institute's latest update. Since restoration began, more than 200,000 customers have already been restored.
Restoration crews continue to operate around the clock, shifting resources to the most heavily impacted communities. Damage from heavy ice, including fallen trees, downed power lines, and blocked access routes, is slowing restoration efforts in some areas.
Ahead of the storm, investor-owned electric companies, electric cooperatives, and public power utilities mobilized a large-scale, multi-state response. More than 65,000 mutual assistance workers from at least 43 states and Canada have been deployed—many pre-staged to support rapid restoration once conditions allowed. Senior officials from the U.S. Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and other federal partners joined CEOs from all segments of the electric power industry through the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council to ensure coordination, resource alignment, and open communication.
“We’re seeing a unified effort across the public and private sectors to support a safe and efficient restoration,” said Drew Maloney, president and CEO of the Edison Electric Institute, appearing on CNBC early this morning. “It’s really important for everyone to understand the coordination with federal, state, and local officials to get power up as quickly as possible during this historic ice storm.”
APPA President and CEO Scott Corwin noted that the public power community “has been preparing for this historic storm,” with mutual aid crews and equipment pre-staged to accelerate response efforts. NRECA CEO Jim Matheson emphasized cooperatives’ readiness and urged customers to prepare for potential extended outages.
