Sunday's Thunderstorms Leave Thousands Without Power

More than 360 ComEd crews have been working around the clock to restore power after a severe storm tore through the Chicago area, causing power outages for more than 250,000 customers.  As of 8 p.m. Sunday, power was restored to more than 96,000 customers.

The storm struck suddenly and violently Sunday.  According to the National Weather Service, the western suburbs experienced wind gusts of 60 to 90 mph, heavy rain and pounding hail. There were a total of 3,400 lightning strokes recorded, primarily in the west and south.  

Ninety-six residents reported being without power Sunday afternoon, but had power restored by Sunday evening.

Some of the communities hardest hit were Lombard, Elmhurst, Wheaton, Carol Stream, Addison, West Chicago, Villa Park, Roselle, Glendale Heights, Elgin and Glen Ellyn.

To better coordinate response during significant outage-related events, ComEd staff was deployed to the Joint Operations Center established by DuPage County. This allows municipalities and ComEd workers to operate from a pre-designated location within the community to expedite restoration to public health, life and safety facilities.

Other steps ComEd took to improve communications during outages:

• Increased call volume capacity to it customer service center
• Implemented two-way text messaging so customers could text their outage to ComEd and get restoration information in response. Customers could text OUT to 26633 (COMED) to report their outage.
• Launched a mobile application for smart phones that enabled outage reporting.

Due to the violent nature of this storm and extensive damage, ComEd is expecting restoration efforts to take several days. Most damaging to the ComEd system was lightning and high winds, which uprooted trees, downed power lines and damaged electrical equipment.

ComEd said the outages are difficult and time-consuming to restore, because crews will need to remove limbs and entire trees that snarled wires and snapped poles.

ComEd’s restoration process begins immediately with damage assessment to determine hardest hit areas and restoration times. The company then prioritizes outage restoration to police and fire departments, hospitals and pumping stations. Next, ComEd restores feeders, which allows the return of power to the largest numbers of customers at one time, followed by smaller service restorations and individual outages.

To assist with the restoration effort ComEd has requested assistance from neighboring utilities in Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin and Missouri as well as other states to supplement the 360 ComEd crews already in the field.

ComEd encourages the public 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 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.

ComEd also offers the following suggestions for customers experiencing a prolonged outage:

• Turn off all appliances including your furnace, water heater, and water pump.
• Leave a lamp on so you can know when power has been restored.
• Keep freezer and refrigerator doors closed and open them only when necessary. Food will stay frozen for 36 to 48 hours in a fully loaded freezer, if the door remains closed. A half-full freezer will generally keep food frozen for 24 hours.
• Customers who are on medical support equipment are strongly encouraged to evacuate to a place where they can be comfortable and safe.

To report an outage, customers can call 1-800 EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661), or report it through the web site – ComEd.com.

*The above was a media announcement by ComEd.