Press release
ComEd Restores Power to 88 Percent of Customers Following Damaging Ice Storms and High Winds
Nearly 2,200 crew members continue to work; focusing on areas with the most significant damage Video footage of crews restoring outages:
About this update from Exelon Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"\nNearly 2,200 crew members continue to work; focusing on areas with the most significant damage \n\nVideo footage of crews restoring outages: https://vimeo.com/801771302/8e4be1c7b6\n\n CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nComEd has restored power to approximately 204,700 customers throughout the communities it serves, or more than 88 percent of customers affected by severe ice storms that moved through northern Illinois Wednesday and Thursday. Icy conditions followed by high winds damaged trees and equipment, causing power outages for approximately 231,000 customers.\n\nNearly 2,200 ComEd and contractor crew members have been working around the clock to restore power to customers. This includes 900 additional crew members from utilities from across the region who arrived Thursday to support ComEd’s safe and swift recovery efforts.\n\n“We recognize any outage is frustrating to our customers and we thank them for their patience as crews work in challenging conditions to restore service as quickly as we can,” said Terence R. Donnelly, president and COO of ComEd. “This storm left significant damage to counties west of Chicago and along the Illinois-Wisconsin border. As we continue to restore power to customers in the hardest-hit communities, the safety of our customers and our crews remains our top priority.”\n\nThe combination of widespread ice and high winds has led to a multi-day recovery effort to restore all the customers affected by this storm. Layers of ice on trees, roads and equipment create additional hazards for utility crews leading to additional outages and longer restoration times well after the storm has passed. While a majority of impacted customers have been restored, a small number of customer outages in pockets with the most significant damage may last until late Saturday night, Feb. 25. As of 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, approximately 26,000 customers remain without service.\n\nComEd has been investing in power grid upgrades and tree trimming to minimize the impact of storms. Since smart grid upgrades began in 2011, ComEd has avoided more than 19 million power outages – saving more than $3.3 billion in outage-related costs – and improved overall reliability by more than 80 percent. In 2022, ComEd delivered its best reliability ever and was recognized with the ReliabilityOne Award for having the most resilient power grid in ...