Around-the-Clock Restoration Efforts Continue for FirstEnergy Customers Affected by Hurricane Sandy

AKRON, Ohio, Nov. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of a massive, around-the-clock effort, more than 19,000 professionals, including employees from Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L), Metropolitan Edison (Met-Ed), Mon Power, The Illuminating Company (CEI), Potomac Edison and other FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) utilities, and outside contractors and utility workers, continue to restore service to customers who lost power following devastating Hurricane Sandy last week.  The storm left more than 2.3 million FirstEnergy utility customers without power in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Maryland.

More than 95 percent of customers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland who were affected by the storm have had power restored.  In New Jersey, where a direct hit from the massive storm inflicted catastrophic damage across the state, progress is being made.  More than 830,000 customers have had power restored since the passing of the storm, with more than 115,000 restored in the past 24 hours.

As debris from the storm is being cleared, customers are cautioned never to touch downed lines.  Customers should always assume downed wires are carrying electricity and are reminded to keep children and pets away from them.  Downed wires should be reported immediately to your electric company or local police or fire department.  Customers should never try to remove trees or limbs from power lines because they could conduct electricity.  They should wait for emergency services or utility crews to arrive.   

The following estimated service restoration times have been established for customers who remain without power:

• JCP&L – Approximately 370,000 of 1.2 million JCP&L customers affected by Hurricane Sandy remain without power.  Many of the remaining customers will be restored by Wednesday, November 7.  Customers in harder-hit areas can expect to be restored throughout the following week.  In some areas where roads, infrastructure, homes and businesses were destroyed, restoration is currently impossible.
• Mon Power – Approximately 32,000 of 201,000 customers impacted remain without power.  Heavy snow has hampered accessibility to much of the area, slowing the restoration process.  The majority of affected customers in counties served by Mon Power are expected to be restored by midnight Friday.  Restoration for customers in the most heavily damaged areas, including parts of Barbour, Braxton, Clay, Grant, Nicholas, Preston, Randolph, Tucker and Webster counties, may continue into the weekend.  These estimated times may change as damage assessments are completed.
• Metropolitan Edison (Met-Ed) – Of the approximately 270,000 customers originally impacted by the storm, about 260,000 have been restored.  Met-Ed expects to complete restoration to the vast majority of those remaining customers throughout today.  In the Easton and Pocono areas, there may be some customers who are not restored until Tuesday.
• Potomac Edison – More than 150,000 Potomac Edison customers were impacted by Hurricane Sandy, and approximately 4,000 remain without power.  Restoration to Potomac Edison customers in West Virginia has been completed.  In Maryland, the majority of customers in the Frederick County area are expected to be restored by midnight tonight.  In hard-hit Garrett County, where heavy snow has slowed damage assessment from the storm, the majority of customers will be restored by midnight Tuesday.
• The Illuminating Company (CEI) – More than 288,000 CEI customers lost power as a result of Hurricane Sandy.  Less than 900 remain without power and will be restored by midnight tonight.

FirstEnergy's restoration process is designed to restore power safely and efficiently for affected customers.  Crews are focused on responding to hazardous situations and high-priority damage locations, including the transmission and substation facilities that supply power for local distribution systems.  Priority also is given to hospitals, critical care and life support facilities, communications facilities, emergency response agencies and circuits serving the largest number of customers, followed by restoration of service to individual homes.

Customers without power are encouraged to call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877) to report their outage or click the "Report Outage" link on www.firstenergycorp.com.

For updated information on the company's current outages, FirstEnergy's storm restoration process and tips for staying safe, visit the 24/7 Power Center at www.firstenergycorp.com/outages.  JCP&L customers can find the latest information on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JCPandL.  FirstEnergy operating companies also will provide updates via Twitter:

• JCP&L: @JCP_L
• Mon Power: @MonPowerWV
• Met-Ed: @Met_Ed
• The Illuminating Company: @IlluminatingCo
• Potomac Edison: @PotomacEdison

FirstEnergy 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.