More than 1,000 Met-Ed Line Workers Restoring Remaining Customers Around the Clock Following Second Major Winter Storm

READING, Pa., March 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Metropolitan Edison Company (Met-Ed) utility personnel are working around the clock to restore power following a second powerful winter storm that left more than eight inches of additional wet, heavy snow in the company's southeastern Pennsylvania service territory.

Additional crews arrived in the area yesterday, bringing the total personnel responding to both storms to nearly 2,200. This robust response team remains focused on repairing the largest outages while prioritizing customers who have been without power the longest. 

About 238,000 customers lost power following last week's storm, with some additional outages and blocked roads resulting from the second storm that hit the area yesterday. Approximately 20,000 customers remain out of service, primarily in the Stroudsburg, Dingmans Ferry and Easton areas of Monroe, Pike and Northampton counties. Crews are working to complete restoration in the hardest-hit areas by late Friday night, but many customers will be returned to service sooner.

"While roads were being cleared of yesterday's snow, we worked throughout the night to prepare our crews for an early start this morning," said Ed Shuttleworth, regional president of Met-Ed. "With several days of clear weather ahead of us, we're confident we will complete the restoration process on schedule."

As part of its storm restoration process, Met-Ed has taken the following steps:

• Ramped up storm updates on social media and on the company website. Follow Met-Ed on Twitter @Met Ed and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MetEdElectric
• Aired radio ads telling customers how to prepare for storms
• Initiated update calls with officials   
• Communicated with emergency management officials, state officials, regulators, and local officials about storm restoration efforts
• Staffed additional dispatchers and analysts at regional dispatch offices

Met-Ed also is offering free water and ice to customers remaining out of service. Customers can pick up water and ice at the following locations: 

• Giant Food Store, 3560 Route 611, Stroudsburg, Pa.
• Giant Food Store, 837 Male Road, Windgap, Pa.
• Giant Food Store, 859 Nazareth Pike, Nazareth, Pa.
• Dingmans Volunteer Fire Department, 680 Log Tavern Road, Milford, Pa.
• Bushkill Volunteer Fire Department, 123 Evergreen Drive, Bushkill, Pa.

Met-Ed reminds customers to immediately report downed wires to their utility at 888-LIGHTSS (888-544-4877), or to their local police or fire department. Customers should never go near a downed wire even if they think it is no longer carrying electricity. Extra caution should be used in areas where downed lines are tangled in trees or other debris.

Met-Ed, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), serves approximately 560,000 customers in 15 Pennsylvania counties. Follow Met-Ed on Twitter @Met Ed and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MetEdElectric.

FirstEnergy is 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 Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Visit FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and follow on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.

Editor's Note: Photos of crews repairing storm damage are available for download on Flickr.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.