Met-Ed's Restoration Efforts Continue Following Hurricane Sandy

READING, Pa., Oct. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Crews from Metropolitan Edison Company (Met-Ed) and other FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) utilities continue to asses the damage and restore service following Hurricane Sandy, which covered the company's 15-county Pennsylvania service area earlier this week.  As of 3 p.m. today, Met-Ed has restored service to 138,000 customers, with 130,000 still without power.

The counties in Met-Ed service area most affected by the hurricane include Berks, Northampton, Monroe, Pike and Lehigh.  Downed trees and branches and impassable roads have hampered restoration efforts. 

Restoration efforts are nearing completion in the York area of the Met-Ed territory.  In conjunction with that, Met-Ed will be relocating the staging site that was set up at the York Fairgrounds to the Nazareth area to support restoration work in the Easton, Stroudsburg, and Pocono areas.

"Based on the assessment information, as well aerial patrols of our territory, we anticipate that 95 percent of our customers will be restored by this weekend, with the remainder restored through early next week," said Mike Doran , Met-Ed regional president.  "All of our line, support and forestry personnel are working around the clock to restore service.  In addition, we are utilizing crews from our FirstEnergy sister companies and contractors to assist our restoration efforts."

"In the meantime, customers should never go near a downed power line or remove trees, limbs or branches from power lines.  And, since some communities are holding Trick or Treat tonight, parents should use an extra measure of caution and keep children away from damaged areas where power lines may remain down," Doran adds.

Information about Met-Ed's restoration efforts is being shared with local officials and customers as soon as it is available.

For updated information on the company's restoration efforts, current outages, FirstEnergy's storm restoration process and tips for staying safe, go to www.firstenergycorp.com.   Met-Ed will also provide updates via Twitter @Met_Ed.

FirstEnergy customer call centers are fully staffed.  To report an outage or a downed line, Met-Ed customers should call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877). 

Met-Ed serves approximately 550,000 customers in 15 Pennsylvania counties.

FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) is a diversified energy company dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence.  Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and West Virginia.  Its generation subsidiaries control more than 20,000 megawatts of capacity from a diversified mix of scrubbed coal, non-emitting nuclear, natural gas, hydro, pumped-storage hydro and other renewables.  Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.

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