Thunderstorm Talking Points

July 23, 2019
1000 hours

KEY MESSAGES / TALKING POINTS:

Situation Overview

A thunderstorm producing heavy rain, lightning and strong winds, moved through the region yesterday evening causing damage to trees and outages throughout our service territory. The most severe weather affected Bucks and Delaware counties. PECO’s Emergency Response Organization is activated, with crews currently investigating the extent of damage and will be working throughout Tuesday. Estimated restoration times will be available as crews continue to assess damage and make repairs.

As of 8 a.m. on Tuesday, approximately 23,000 customers are without service.
• Bucks County = 14,000
• Chester County = Scattered
• Delaware County = 7,000
• Montgomery County = 1,000
• Philadelphia County = Scattered
• York County = Scattered

Key Messages
What happened?

A thunderstorm that produced heavy rain, lightning and strong winds, moved through southeastern Pennsylvania, leaving downed trees and tree limbs, flooding conditions, and causing damage to utility poles and electric equipment.

Approximately 90,000 customers were impacted by the storm, with more than 74,000 customers without service at the height. As of 8 a.m. on Tuesday, around 23,000 PECO customers are currently without electric service.

What are we doing?

When storms and extreme weather hit, PECO is prepared and dedicated to safely restoring service to our customers as quickly as possible. PECO personnel work around the clock until every last customer is restored.

PECO’s Emergency Response Organization is activated, and all available personnel are responding to support our customers. PECO has secured local contractor crews to provide assistance in making repairs.

Estimated restoration times will be available as crews continue to assess damage and make repairs.

We know our customers are inconvenienced anytime they are without service and we appreciate their patience and understanding as we make repairs.

What do we want customers to know/do?

PECO urges customers to be safe during severe weather by staying away from downed power lines and potentially damaged electric equipment.

Customers should always assume that PECO equipment is energized. Report downed power lines by contacting us at 1-800-841-4141.

Customers experiencing any issues with their electric or natural gas service should contact PECO at 1-800-841-4141.

Customers also can easily report issues with their electric service at peco.com/outages using their phone, tablet or computer or through PECO’s free mobile app.

Download PECO’s free mobile app to report outages and receive notifications on restoration status. The PECO mobile app is available through the App Store or Google Play.

Visit peco.com/alerts to choose how to receive information – via text, email or phone – including when power is out in your area, when your service is expected to be restored, or when your power is restored.

PECO also has a two-way texting program for outages. By texting “ADDOUTAGE” to MYPECO (697326), customers can enroll in the program, report outages and check the status of their outage through text messaging. To use this service a customer’s mobile number must be registered with their account.

Customers can find additional information at peco.com/storm. Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/pecoconnect and on Twitter at twitter.com/pecoconnect.