ALLENTOWN, Pa. – PPL Electric Utilities crews continue sustained efforts to safely repair extensive storm damage and restore power to customers following a series of severe storms that impacted eastern and central Pennsylvania over the weekend.
Since the storms began Friday, PPL Electric has restored power to more than 210,000 customers, according to a news release from the company. Crews continue working to restore service to about 62,500 customers who remain without power as of Monday afternoon.
The company has identified more than 2,360 individual damage locations across its system, including downed wires, broken poles and damaged equipment. PPL says crews will continue to work until every customer who can safely receive power has been restored.
“The damage from this series of storms places it among the top 10 most impactful storms in PPL Electric’s history,” said Christine Martin, president of PPL Electric Utilities. “We know being without power is frustrating and disruptive, especially during summer heat. Our crews are working day and night, and we won’t stop until every customer has their power restored.”
PPL Electric currently has more than 2,000 personnel supporting restoration efforts across its service territory, including employees in the field and back office, contractors, forestry resources, damage assessors and mutual assistance crews. Mutual assistance crews include resources from PPL’s sister utilities in multiple states and Canada. The company says additional mutual assistance resources are arriving Monday and will be deployed to the hardest-hit areas as they become available.
Courtesy of PPL
Crews continue to assess damage, remove downed trees and limbs and repair equipment damaged by heavy rain and wind gusts that reached up to 60 mph. Additional storms Sunday night brought heavy rain and lightning, causing about 24,000 additional customer outages.
PPL says as restoration progresses, the work that remains is often the most complex and time-intensive.
In many cases, a single outage may require several steps before power can be restored, including clearing trees and debris, assessing damage, bringing in materials and equipment, replacing poles, rebuilding sections of wire and making repairs at multiple locations along the circuit.
“Restoring power safely remains our top priority,” Martin said. “We understand customers want their power restored as quickly as possible. At the same time, we must carefully assess and repair damage to make sure the electric system is safe before lines are re-energized.”
PPL Electric expects this to remain a multi-day restoration effort. Many customers will have power restored by Monday at 11:00 p.m. The company says it will continue to update estimated restoration times on its outage map as crews assess remaining damage and arrive to make repairs.
Customers are encouraged to check PPL Electric’s outage map or mobile app for the latest restoration information and to sign up for alerts to receive outage updates.
For updates on storm restoration progress, visit pplelectric.com or download the PPL Electric Utilities mobile app.