CLEVELAND — Northeast Ohio was hit hard by strong storms and tornadoes last Tuesday -- and thousands upon thousands of FirstEnergy customers experienced power outages for several days.
FirstEnergy held a press conference Monday morning where the company said approximately 98% of impacted customers had their power restored as efforts continue for those who are still without electricity (scroll down to see the latest outage numbers in Northeast Ohio).
Torrence Hinton, who is FirstEnergy's President of Ohio, says nearly all impacted customers "will have power restored much sooner than the original estimate," which was projected to be Wednesday, Aug. 14.
"Most of our customers who are currently without service will have their power restored by 11 p.m. tonight," Hinton said Monday. "A small number of customers in area with more extensive damage may experience restoration times that extend further into this week. Those customers will have individual restoration times assigned to their location to help them plan and make arrangements for the days ahead."
Hinton said customers can view their individual estimated restoration time for their by logging into their account at www.firstenergycorp.com or by texting STAT to 544487 if they are registered for text alerts.
“We understand that customers who remain without power are frustrated and they are tired," Hinton said. "We won’t let up our efforts to restore service until every customer impacted by this storm have had their power restored to their home or to their business. Unfortunately, what Mother Nature can destroy in mere minutes often takes people much, much longer to rebuild.”
FirstEnergy continues its partnership with Giant Eagle and various community centers to provide free water and ice. You can see a list of those locations HERE.
“Customers do not need to show their bill or any other documentation to obtain this free water and free ice," Hinton said.
On Tuesday morning, FirstEnergy told 3News that "crews are out working as quickly and safely as possible to restore the remaining customers today."
FirstEnergy noted that since Sunday, Aug. 11, crews have repaired or replaced the following:
- 1,795 pole crossarms
- 400 poles
- 195 transformers
- 189,253 feet of wire and cable
- For reference, that's enough wire and cable to cover 526 football fields laid end to end.
LATEST OUTAGE UPDATES
Here's a look at the latest outage numbers impacting FirstEnergy customers in Northeast Ohio as of 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 13 (listed alphabetically by county):
- Statewide: 916 outages
County-by-county updates:
- Cuyahoga: 383 outages
- Geauga: 242 outages
Note: Some cities and municipalities may have fluctuating restoration times. Check for the latest updates directly from FirstEnergy here.
Be sure to refresh this page frequently to see the most recent power outage updates.
CLEVELAND PUBLIC POWER
As of 12:12 p.m. Tuesday, Cleveland Public Power said their crews have restored service to 99% of the 34,000 customers who were impacted by the outages.
"The teams will continue to work around the clock to restore the remaining approximately 360 customers without service," according to a press release.
Their current areas of concentration are listed as:
- Old Brooklyn
- North Collinwood
- St. Clair - Superior
- Wakefield
IMPACTS OF THE OUTAGES
The Illuminating Co. shared the following update with 3News on Thursday morning:
The Illuminating Company requested support from thousands of contractors to help with restoration and expects the majority of them to arrive in Northern Ohio today. Crews have restored power to nearly 200,000 customers impacted by Tuesday’s severe weather. Line workers continue to work around the clock to restore the remaining 267,700 customers.
Because of the extent of the storm damage, the Illuminating Company expects it could take until next Wednesday to safely restore power to its customers. Of course, as we work through the outages, thousands of customers will come back on before then. The outage map will start populating more specific times for each neighborhood as they are available.
Ohio Edison estimates it will have the majority of its customers restored by Friday night, with many before then.
We know it’s difficult for people to be without power, and our crews will continue working around the clock to get the lights back on.
Also on Wednesday morning, AES Indiana announced that it is sending help to Northeast Ohio amid the massive power outages following Tuesday's storm. After a "mutual aid call" from FirstEnergy, AES says it is sending 12 linemen with buckets and digger trucks, a supply truck, a garage mechanic, and a "team leader from lines." The crew was set to depart sometime around 12:30 p.m. EDT.
"We are proud to be able to send crews to help Cleveland after the devastating storms that left thousands of people without power. We wish them safety as they travel and help to restore power to the 400,000 people who are without power in the wake of the destruction," AES Indiana said in a statement.
These outages have also impacted some traffic lights throughout the region. If you happen to come across an area where the traffic lights aren't working, remember that the intersection needs to be treated as a four-way stop.