Ahead of Schedule, ComEd's Goal to Restore 95 Percent of Customers Today; Everyone By Friday

CHICAGO, July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ComEd today announced that it is ahead of its initial schedule and its goal is to restore power to 95 percent of customers who were affected by one of the most severe storms on record by midnight tonight.  With additional crews arriving every day, the utility accelerated its initial target to restore power to 90 percent of the 850,000 customers who lost power by Thursday midnight and 99 percent by midnight on Friday. Based on the company's current restoration efforts, all customers could be back on line Friday.

ComEd crews and a strong contingent of hundreds of out-of-state utility workers have worked round-the-clock to restore power, and as of early Thursday morning, less than 100,000 customers remained without power.  ComEd restored approximately 750,000 customers as of 10 a.m. today.

"Our employees have done a tremendous job in restoring power to the vast majority of affected customers," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Frank M. Clark. "I know that there are still many customers without electricity and we have amassed the largest restoration force ever to restore power faster than any time in the last decade."

The July 11 storm brought heavy rain, 18,000 lightning strikes and wind gusts of 80 mph causing extensive tree damage and bringing down power lines. The resulting outages were extensive and more difficult and time consuming to restore.  ComEd crews faced challenging work environments due to access issues caused by fallen debris and extensive damage to ComEd equipment.

To date, ComEd has replaced nearly 50 miles of wire and close to 300 poles and that number continues to grow. Comparable storms in terms of wind speed and customer impact are the hurricane storms that hit the U.S. coasts. Restoration times related to those storms ranged from seven to 10 days.

"Our crews have put in long days and nights to swiftly restore power to our affected customers," said Anne Pramaggiore, president and chief operating officer, ComEd. "The fact that we are ahead of schedule is a testament to their focus on restoring customers as quickly and safely as possible. I would like to thank our customers and municipal partners for their patience."

ComEd currently has nearly 850 crews in the field, including mutual support from utilities in Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Crews from Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee also are assisting ComEd.

The company's call center received almost one million customer inquiries in the aftermath of the storm and enlisted additional staffing and an outside service to manage the increased call volume. ComEd also experienced higher customer traffic to ComEd.com and to its Twitter and Facebook accounts, where customers were able to get real-time outage updates.

The largest number of outages remains in the company's northern and western regions and the company continues to work closely with municipal officials and businesses to provide ongoing updates to them regarding restoration efforts. ComEd has dedicated regional crews to downed wires, traffic signals and other municipal priorities. Hardest hit towns are Waukegan, Gurnee, Crystal Lake and Round Lake Beach.

ComEd's restoration process begins with damage assessment, this process enables the company to determine hardest hit areas and factors into restoration times. The company then prioritizes outage restoration to ensure public safety first such as police and fire, then hospitals and other critical customers. Next, ComEd restores feeders, which allows us to return power to large numbers of customers at one time, followed by smaller service restorations and individual outages.

Public safety is paramount during storms and ComEd encourages the public to remember 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.

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), one of the nation's largest electric utilities with approximately 5.4 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population.

SOURCE ComEd