Sep 19, 2003
PPL Electric Utilities Crews to Work Through the Night Restoring Power
PRNewswire-FirstCall
ALLENTOWN, Pa.
Situation: PPL Electric Utilities line crews have
worked throughout the day (9/19) to restore
power to more than 320,000 customers after
Tropical Storm Isabel ripped through its
29-county service territory Thursday
evening. The storm, the most damaging in the
company's history, interrupted service to
about 450,000 PPL customers. According to
newswire reports, the storm left more than
5.8 million people without power throughout
the East Coast.
Including contract line crews, approximately
450 two-man teams will be working in shifts
around the clock to restore power to PPL
customers. Due to the extensive damage
caused by the storm, the company had to
bring in line crews from as far away as Iowa
and Canada to assist in the restoration. The
company has about 1,400 employees and
contractors working on the recovery effort.
PPL Electric Utilities has arranged for
approximately 120 local stores to provide
ice and drinking water at no charge for
customers who are expected to be without
power for longer than 24 hours. The company
also has mobilized a large team of customer
service representatives to make personal
calls to customers who are out of power for
extended periods of time. This group expects
to make thousands of calls a day until the
event is over.
To report power outages or to locate the
nearest distribution point for ice and
water, customers can call the company's
toll-free customer service number,
800-342-5775 (800-DIAL PPL).
Customers Restored: 320,000 as of 9:30 p.m. EDT Friday (9/19).
Customers Without Power: 160,000 as of 9:30 p.m. EDT Friday (9/19).
Affected Areas: The entire 29-county service area of PPL
Electric Utilities in eastern and central
Pennsylvania have been affected by Isabel.
Number of Repairs Pending: About 3,300
Cause of Outages: Fallen trees and tree limbs because of
tropical storm-force winds.
Est. Restoration Time: The company expects many more customers to
be back in service in the next 24 hours. But
it is likely that it will be early next week
before PPL completes the thousands of
repairs that are necessary to get all
customers back in service.
Additional Information: Customers who wish to report outages should
not approach PPL crews in the field. They
can call PPL Electric Utilities toll free
number at 1-800-342-5775.
SOURCE: PPL Electric Utilities
CONTACT: Andy Hallmark, +1-610-774-5997, for PPL Electric Utilities
Web site: http://www.pplweb.com/
http://www.pplnewsroom.com/
Quick links.