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FirstEnergy Crews Continue to Make Repairs Following Windstorms

Nov. 18, 2020
As of Nov. 16, FirstEnergy utilities restored service to more than 371,000 customers.

As of Nov. 16, FirstEnergy Corp.'s utilities restored service to more than 371,000 customers who lost power after windstorms swept through the company's entire service area on Nov. 15. Crews were working around the clock to assess damage and restore service to approximately 72,000 customers who remained without power in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey.

Beginning early on Nov. 15 in western Ohio and moving eastward throughout the day, powerful winds between 45 to 55 mph and gusting up to more than 65 mph brought down tree limbs and caused widespread damage to FirstEnergy's utility poles and equipment.

"The heavy winds caused thousands of instances of downed wires, broken poles, and crossarms, and damaged transformers caused by trees and other debris contacting our electrical equipment," Samuel L. Belcher, senior vice president and president of FirstEnergy Utilities, had said after the storm. "Though repair work can be slowed by unsafe working conditions and numerous road closures, we will continue to work around the clock to safely make repairs and deploy resources as needed until power to all customers has been restored."

All available company resources were working to restore power across all 10 of the utility's operating companies — The Illuminating Co., Ohio Edison, and Toledo Edison in Ohio; Penn Power, Penelec, West Penn Power, and Met-Ed in Pennsylvania; Mon Power in West Virginia; Potomac Edison in West Virginia and Maryland; and JCP&L in New Jersey. Support personnel from FirstEnergy's corporate offices were also included in the company's contingent.

The companies coordinated with contractors and electrical industry mutual assistance organizations to secure more than 800 additional resources to assist in the hardest-hit areas in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Outage updates as of Nov. 16, 5 p.m., included:

  • Toledo Edison: Approximately 15,400 customers lost power because of the storm and approximately 500 remained without service. The remaining customers were expected to have power restored by Nov. 17, 1 p.m.
  • The Illuminating Co.: Approximately 96,000 customers lost power because of the storm and 22,000 remained without service. Based on outages and damage assessments, approximately 74% of affected customers were expected to have power restored by the end of the day on Nov. 16. Service restoration for the majority of remaining customers was expected by Nov. 18, 11 p.m.
  • Ohio Edison: Approximately 116,000 customers lost power because of the storm and 25,000 remained without service. Based on outages and damage assessments, many customers were expected to have power restored by Nov. 18 evening; however, the majority of customers in the hardest-hit areas were expected to have power restored by Nov. 19, 4 p.m.
  • Penn Power: Approximately 9000 customers lost power because of the storm and 1000 remained without service. Based on outages and damage assessments, the majority of customers were expected to have power restored by Nov. 17, 11.30 p.m.
  • Penelec: Approximately 70,000 customers lost power because of the storm and 14,500 remained without service. Based on outages and damage assessments, most customers were expected to have power restored by Nov. 17 evening, with any remaining customers in the hardest-hit areas expected to have power restored by Nov. 18, 11.30 p.m.
  • West Penn Power: Approximately 50,000 customers lost power because of the storm and 4300 remained without service. Based on outages and damage assessments, the majority of customers were expected to have power restored by Nov. 17, 6 p.m.
  • Met-Ed: Approximately 36,000 customers lost power because of the storm and 2000 remained without service. Based on outages and damage assessments, the majority of customers were expected to have power restored by Nov. 17, 6 p.m.
  • Mon Power: Approximately 15,500 customers lost power because of the storm and 700 remained without service. Based on outages and damage assessments, the majority of customers were expected to have power restored by Nov. 17, 2 p.m.
  • Potomac Edison: Approximately 11,600 customers lost power because of the storm and 300 remained without service. Based on outages and damage assessments, the majority of customers were expected to have power restored by Nov. 16, 11 p.m.
  • JCP&L: Approximately 29,000 customers lost power because of the storm and 1200 remained without service. Based on outages and damage assessments, approximately 99% of impacted customers were expected to have power restored by Nov. 16, 11 p.m., with service restoration for the majority of remaining customers expected by Nov. 17, 2 p.m.

To safeguard the health and safety of FirstEnergy employees, contractors, and the public, the company requested customers to respect social distancing protocols as utility personnel worked around the clock to restore all power outages.

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