91,068 in Bucks County Remain Without Power

In the most recent PECO update, from Friday afternoon, PECO reports about 125,000 customers still without power:

• Bucks County =  75,000
• Montgomery County = 38,000 
• Chester County = 5,500
• Delaware County = 3,800
• Philadelphia County = 2,700

“This is the worst damage I have ever seen,” said Pat O’Neil, a 25-year PECO veteran supervisor who has been working 16 hour shifts to restore service since the beginning of the storm. 

“Many of the areas we are working in had significant damage, including multiple downed trees and poles, downed wires, and damaged equipment.  In some of these areas, we need to completely rebuild the electric distribution system and supporting infrastructure to restore service to our customers.”

PPL reports 10,834 customers without power from Hilltown up through the northwest Bucks County, with about 2,000 customers out in Montgomery County.

Met Ed still has 5,234 customers out in northeast Bucks, from Tinicum up through Riegelsville.

PECO expects the remaining customers to be restored to power by Sunday. PPL is giving a similar time frame for completion.

According to the release, more than 4,600 PECO employees, contractors and workers (from as far away as Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Maryland, and PECO’s Chicago-based sister utility ComEd) have restored service to more than 725,000 of the 850,000 PECO customers impacted by Hurricane Sandy.  An additional 400 support personnel from Maryland and ComEd had joined the restoration effort Friday morning.