Service Restored to ComEd Customers Impacted by Polar Vortex

ComEd restores service to 61,000 customers within first 24 hours

ComEd crews and contractors restored electrical service this week to 64,000 customers affected by the polar vortex that plunged the temperature to negative 23 degrees, the second coldest in recorded history for the Chicago area. Power was restored to virtually all customers by Wednesday night.

“We understand the hardship that losing power presents, particularly in extremely cold temperatures, and want to thank customers affected by this historic event for their patience,” said Terence R. Donnelly, president and chief operating officer, ComEd. “Working in extreme cold creates unique challenges. We assigned multiple crews to jobs that might normally require only one crew so that our employees could warm up in rotation and restore power as safely and quickly as possible. We’re proud of our crews who worked 24/7 in extremely harsh conditions to get the power flowing again for customers.”

Electrical power lines. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania

While temperatures are rising dramatically compared to earlier this week, ComEd encourages the public to take the following precautions:

If a downed power line is spotted, immediately call ComEd at 1-800-EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661). Spanish-speaking customers should call 1-800-95-LUCES (1-800-955-8237).
Never approach a downed power line. Always assume a power line is energized and extremely dangerous.
In the event of an outage, do not approach ComEd crews working to restore power to ask about restoration times. Crews may be working on live electrical equipment and the perimeter of the work zone may be hazardous.
Do not shovel snow onto ComEd equipment.
Only operate generators outside and in well-ventilated areas. Gasoline-powered generators produce carbon monoxide, and the fumes can be deadly.

ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), a Fortune 100 energy company with approximately 10 million electricity and natural gas customers – the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information visit ComEd.com and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

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