Sandy Knocks Out Power Across Pennsylania

Scott Detrow

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Scott Detrow is a congressional correspondent for NPR. He also co-hosts the NPR Politics Podcast.

Detrow joined NPR in 2015 to cover the presidential election. He focused on the Republican side of the 2016 race, spending time on the campaign trail with Donald Trump, and also reported on the election's technology and data angles.

Detrow worked as a statehouse reporter for member stations WITF in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and KQED in San Francisco, California. He has also covered energy policy for NPR's StateImpact project, where his reports on Pennsylvania's hydraulic fracturing boom won a DuPont-Columbia and national Edward R. Murrow Award in 2013.

October 29, 2012 | 3:58 PM

Mid Atlantic Coast Prepares For Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy floods the streets of Atlantic City, NJ

UPDATE: The AP is reporting that as of 6:50 PM, more than 200,000 people have lost power. Check StateImpact Pennsylvania tomorrow morning for a full update on power outages.
At 5:30 on Monday afternoon, more than 44,800 Pennsylvanians have lost power. The total is expected to increase overnight, as Sandy’s winds pick up.
More than 26,000 PECO customers are without power. That’s far more than any other utility, which isn’t surprising considering all but one of PECO’s counties are in southeast Pennsylvania, where Sandy hit the hardest this afternoon.
Here’s a breakdown of how many PECO customers are powerless, as of 5:30 Monday afternoon:
[spreadsheet key=”0AirC4nWDeIFTdFNlQnlNNlRIeDVfRnRyVm1FdzVvcWc” source=”PA Public Utility Commission” sheet=0 filter=1 paginate=0 sortable=0]
PECO spokeswoman Jenny Wittman says the utility expects a lot more outages as Hurricane Sandy intensifies. 2,000 employees are still out in the field, and the crews include out-of-state workers from as far away as Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Louisiana.
Nearly 9,000 PPL customers have lost power, too. Top counties include:

Bucks: 2,805 customers
Montgomery: 1,445
Schuylkill: 577

In a statement, PPL vice president David Bonenberger said it may take more than a week to fix outages. “We’re working around the clock, and we’ve arranged for more than 1,600 additional outside personnel who will help with damage assessment and outage restoration,” he said. “Nearly all of those additional workers are already here, with more on the way.”

There’s no central public hub tracking every power outage in Pennsylvania, but each utility does provide its own online map. Click on the links below to see how many of each providers’ customers are without power.

PPL
PECO
FirstEnergy (PennPower, PenElec, Met-Ed, WestPenn Power)
Citizens Electric
Duquesne
Orange and Rockland

Once the power goes out, it will likely stay out for several days. That’s according to Governor Corbett and other state officials, as Pennsylvania Public Radio reports:

The major utilities have called in out-of-state workers to assist with restoring power. According to the governor’s office, PECO has brought in 1,100 workers from Chicago, PPL has called in 1,500 workers from Kentucky, and First Energy has more than 150 workers coming from Ohio.
“Are we overhyping this? Absolutely not,” said Pennsylvania Utility Commission chairman Robert Powelson. “This event is going to have a profound impact on our utility footprints.”
Gov. Corbett said even Election Day is a concern right now, as officials ponder the possibility the power grid might not be fully restored by next Tuesday.

Here are some tips for what to do if you lose power.