Sep 20, 2003
PPL Electric Isabel Update, Sept. 20, 4:30 p.m.: More Than 400,000 Customers Restored in 48 Hours
PRNewswire
ALLENTOWN, Pa.
This news release is an update on the progress of restoring electricity to PPL Electric Utilities customers affected by Isabel.
Situation: One of the largest groups of PPL and contract line crews ever
assembled at the company has restored power to more than 80
percent of its customers that were affected by Tropical Storm
Isabel. Approximately 450 PPL and contract line crews
continue to work shifts around the clock in the effort.
By late afternoon, about 425,000 customers were back in
service.
Historically, a storm is considered large if it causes more
than 1,000 individual cases of necessary system repairs.
Isabel has already caused 4,356 cases of trouble.
Most PPL customers are expected to be back in service by the
end of the weekend. However, in some areas, the sheer volume
of trouble cases will take longer to resolve. PPL is working
to release updated restoration times later this evening.
Customers Restored: 425,000 as of 5:00 p.m. EDT Saturday (9/20)
Customers Without Power: 74,000 as of 5:00 p.m. EDT Saturday (9/20)
Affected Areas: The entire 29-county service area of PPL Electric
Utilities in eastern and central Pennsylvania has been
affected.
Number of Repairs Pending: 2,888
Cause of Outages: Fallen trees and tree limbs.
Est. Restoration Time: With the progress crews are making, PPL Electric
Utilities expects to restore the majority of
customers currently without service by late
Sunday. It will take until early next week to get
every customer back in service.
Additional Information: Outage figures are updated continuously on PPL's
news media Web site: www.pplnewsroom.com. The
Web site also lists contact information for each
part of the company's service area.
In areas with extensive damage to the electric
delivery system that will take more than a day
to repair or rebuild, PPL Electric Utilities has
made thousands of phone calls to customers to
keep them informed and assess any special needs
they may have.
Customers should call PPL Electric Utilities'
toll free number, 800-342-5775 (800-DIAL PPL) to
report outages, fallen wires or special needs.
Because so many of the outages are the result of
fallen trees and tree limbs, in some places
wires are on the ground. People should stay far
away from fallen wires, even if they appear to
be "dead." Call PPL Electric Utilities or 911
immediately.
SOURCE: PPL Corporation
CONTACT: Andy Hallmark of PPL Corporation, +1-610-774-5997, fax,
+1-610-774-5281
Web site: http://www.pplweb.com/
Quick links.