ComEd Prepares for Severe Storms and High Winds

Energy company increasing staffing to quickly restore customers’ power if outages occur

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ComEd is closely monitoring and preparing for severe weather, including potential thunderstorms and high winds, across northern Illinois on Tuesday afternoon and into Wednesday. Forecasts project rain, lightning and sustained wind gusts up to 43 miles per hour as remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal are expected to hit the region. ComEd is increasing crew staffing and readying equipment to respond quickly if power outages occur.

When responding to power outages caused by storms, ComEd’s priority is to restore critical facilities such as police and fire stations, nursing homes and hospitals first. The company will further increase its focus on these facilities as they are more critical than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We know our customers depend on reliable power all the time and especially now when many of them are spending more of their time in the home,” said Terry Donnelly, president and COO of ComEd. “Our employees have been doing their essential work to maintain and operate the power grid through the pandemic and are ready to respond quickly to storms if needed to continue to deliver reliable and safe power for families and businesses.”

Public safety is paramount, and ComEd encourages customers 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. Additionally, for the safety of everyone, our people are practicing social distancing.

ComEd urges customers to contact the company immediately if they experience a power outage. Customers can text OUT to 26633 (COMED) to report an outage and receive restoration information, and can follow the company on Twitter @ComEd or on Facebook at Facebook.com/ComEd. Customers can also call 1-800-EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661), or report outages via the website at ComEd.com/Report. Spanish-speaking customers should call 1-800-95-LUCES (1-800-955-8237).

ComEd has introduced a mobile app for iPhone and Android® smart phones that gives customers the ability to report power outages and manage their accounts; download the app at ComEd.com/App.

ComEd has an interactive outage map on its website at ComEd.com/Map, which allows customers to easily find information on the location and size of outages and get estimated power restoration times.

ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: 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, Instagram and YouTube.