PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hurricane Irene has arrived, bringing six to 10 inches of torrential rain and 45 mph winds with gusts of up to 70 mph to the region, resulting in flooding and severe damage to electric lines and equipment. PECO has mobilized more than 2,500 field personnel and hundreds of employees to respond to the devastating effects of this potentially record-breaking category one storm. This massive effort includes 950 PECO employees, 800 vegetation field forces, 830 local and national personnel from as far away as Florida and Michigan are responding to outages and repair damage. Also, about 100 employees from PECO’s Chicago-based sister utility ComEd are assisting in the efforts.
Additional outages are expected as the storm continues during the next several hours. As of 4 a.m., about 297,000 customers are without power. Specifically:
- Bucks County: 79,000
- Chester County: 84,000
- Delaware County: 84,000
- Montgomery County: 29,000
- Philadelphia County: 21,000
Customers who experience an outage or issue with their natural gas service should call the company immediately at 1-800-841-4141. The more customers who call to report an outage, the more effectively PECO can dispatch crews and restore service. PECO reminds customers to stay safe during the storm. With saturated ground and high winds, customers may encounter tree damage and downed power lines as the storm intensifies. Customers should always assume that downed lines and equipment are energized and extremely dangerous. Customers also should never enter basements that are flooded until power is de-energized. Stay away from any flood-covered electric equipment in neighborhoods, even if electricity has been terminated in the area.
PECO’s Emergency Response Organization has been activated since 8 a.m. on Thursday, August 25. Field crews and personnel will work around the clock to repair extreme damage and safely restore service to customers as quickly as possible.
Based in Philadelphia, PECO is an electric and natural gas utility subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC). PECO serves 1.6 million electric and 490,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania and employs about 2,400 people in the region. PECO delivered 87.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 39.5 billion kilowatt-hours-hours of electricity in 2010. Founded in 1881, PECO is one of the Greater Philadelphia Region's most active corporate citizens, providing leadership, volunteer and financial support to numerous arts and culture, education, environmental, economic development and community programs and organizations.
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