Hurricane Sandy Making Presence Felt in PPL Electric Utilities' Territory (4:45 pm update)
By: Jayne Ann Bugda
Updated: October 29, 2012
PPL Electric Utilities crews are busy repairing scattered power outages across the utility's service area Monday ahead of the main assault from Hurricane Sandy, expected this evening into Tuesday (10/30).
Crews restored power to about 8,500 customers by 4 p.m. Monday in all areas of its service territory in eastern and central Pennsylvania. About 8,600 customers were without power at mid-afternoon, about half of which were in the Lehigh Valley.
"Storm conditions are expected to deteriorate this afternoon through Tuesday morning," said David Bonenberger, vice president of Distribution Operations for the utility. "With forecasts showing the brunt of this storm is yet to come, we still expect significant tree and line damage."
Utility officials said it's too early to say how long power restoration efforts will last, but multi-day outages -- possibly a week or more -- are possible in some cases.
"We're working around the clock, and we've arranged for more than 1,600 additional outside personnel who will help with damage assessment and outage restoration. Nearly all of those additional workers are already here, with more on the way," Bonenberger said. "They are coming from states as far away as North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana and Missouri and we're glad to have them."
PPL Electric Utilities reminds its customers to stay safe during the storm and be watchful for downed power lines. Severe weather conditions also may make it unsafe for utility workers to perform restoration work at times.
Customers are reminded to report power outages at 1-800-DIAL-PPL (1-800-342-5775) or online at http://www.pplelectric.com Customers need to register their account to report outages online, and the Outage Center web site is adapted for mobile phones.
Crews restored power to about 8,500 customers by 4 p.m. Monday in all areas of its service territory in eastern and central Pennsylvania. About 8,600 customers were without power at mid-afternoon, about half of which were in the Lehigh Valley.
"Storm conditions are expected to deteriorate this afternoon through Tuesday morning," said David Bonenberger, vice president of Distribution Operations for the utility. "With forecasts showing the brunt of this storm is yet to come, we still expect significant tree and line damage."
Utility officials said it's too early to say how long power restoration efforts will last, but multi-day outages -- possibly a week or more -- are possible in some cases.
"We're working around the clock, and we've arranged for more than 1,600 additional outside personnel who will help with damage assessment and outage restoration. Nearly all of those additional workers are already here, with more on the way," Bonenberger said. "They are coming from states as far away as North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana and Missouri and we're glad to have them."
PPL Electric Utilities reminds its customers to stay safe during the storm and be watchful for downed power lines. Severe weather conditions also may make it unsafe for utility workers to perform restoration work at times.
Customers are reminded to report power outages at 1-800-DIAL-PPL (1-800-342-5775) or online at http://www.pplelectric.com Customers need to register their account to report outages online, and the Outage Center web site is adapted for mobile phones.
