PECO Ready To Tackle Storm-Related Outages

PHILADELPHIA, PA – With significant snow and winds forecasted to hit the region this weekend, PECO says they are ready to handle the potential massive influx of power outages throughout Philadelphia and its suburbs.

PECO said in a press release Thursday that their 2,400 employees and more than 500 additional contractors were ready to repair potential storm damage and safely restore service as quickly as possible to Montgomery, Chester, Bucks, Delaware, Philadelphia, and other surrounding counties.

With preparations beginning earlier this week, PECO has placed crews and personnel on standby, and secured local contractors and other assistance from its sister utility, ComEd, in Chicago.

The power company was much maligned after what residents and lawmakers called an unreasonable response to outages following summer storms.

In response, PECO revamped the way they keep customers informed during an outage.They launched a new mobile website and outage map, which customers can use to drill drown to specific townships and find estimated power return times updated every minute.

In addition to this new tool, PECO has launched a new two-way texting program for outages. By texting “ADDOUTAGE” to MYPECO (697376), customers can enroll in the program, report outages and check the status of their outage through text. In order to use this service, a customer’s mobile number must be registered with their account.

PECO reminds customers to stay safe during extreme winter weather and prepare for possible storm damage. Customers can visit peco.com/alertsto choose how to receive messages from PECO regarding an outage or severe weather – via text, email or phone.

Customers are encouraged to report electric outages immediately at peco.com, on PECO Smart Mobile On-the-Go, the company’s mobile website, or by calling 1-800-841-4141.

All residents are urged to stay away from downed wires, damaged electric equipment, and tree limbs and branches contacting electrical equipment. Always assume PECO’s equipment is energized, even if there is an outage in your neighborhood. Report these dangerous conditions to PECO immediately.

More safety and storm preparation tips are available at peco.com/safety.