PHILADELPHIA (March 3, 2018) – PECO is continuing to restore electric service to customers affected by a powerful nor'easter that began moving through Southeastern Pennsylvania on Friday and continued to cause damage to trees and power equipment through the day on Saturday. More than 616,000 outages occurred due to high sustained winds and gusts exceeding 60 miles per hour.

"We understand the natural frustration that comes along with these storm-related service interruptions," said Mike Innocenzo, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for PECO. "Rest assured, we have marshalled every resource available and will be working 24/7 until power is safely restored for our customers."  

Crews are working in around-the-clock shifts to restore service as safely and quickly as possible. The vast majority of customers are expected to be restored by Monday night with final repairs to pockets of more heavily damaged areas continuing in to mid-week. Specific restoration times will be available to customers through PECO's outage reporting channels as damage assessments are completed.

Crews from PECO's Exelon sister utility ComEd in Illinois are anticipated to arrive Saturday evening. Additional crews from utilities located outside the large geographic area impacted by this storm are expected to begin arriving tomorrow.

High winds have persisted throughout today and have continued to down trees and limbs and limit the operation of bucket trucks used for overhead repairs. Additionally, damaged trees must be removed from power lines before repairs can be completed, extending the duration of power restorations.  

PECO asks all customers, including those with smart meters, to report their outage. Outages may be reported online at peco.com and via PECO's free mobile app. Customers may also report outages and downed wires by calling 800-841-4141, on peco.com and through mobile devices. To sign up for email and text notifications, visit peco.com/alerts. 

Customers with special needs, such as those who may be elderly, disabled or dependent on electricity for medical equipment, should have alternate arrangements in place should they experience an extended power outage.

PECO's restoration priorities are public safety and critical care facilities, such as 911 centers, hospitals and pumping stations. Then restoration is generally scheduled so that the greatest number of customers can be restored as quickly and as safely as possible. However, in cases of extended power outages, consideration is also given to customers who have been without service for the longest. 

PECO encourages customers to stay engaged by following us on Facebook at facebook.com/pecoconnect and on Twitter at twitter.com/pecoconnect, and downloading our mobile app at peco.com/app.

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PECO, founded in 1881, is Pennsylvania's largest electric and natural gas utility. Headquartered in Philadelphia, PECO delivers energy to more than 1.6 million electric customers and more than 516,000 natural gas customers in southeastern, Pennsylvania. The company's 2,500 employees are dedicated to the safe and reliable delivery of electricity and natural gas as well as enhanced energy management conservation, environmental stewardship and community assistance. PECO was named 2017 Best Mid-size Employer in Philadelphia by Forbes Magazine. The company also has an estimated annual economic impact of $4.3 billion in Pennsylvania, supporting more than 8,700 local jobs and producing $732 million in labor income.  PECO is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation's only Fortune 100 utility and leading competitive energy provider. For more information visit PECO.com, and connect with the company on Facebook and Twitter.

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