JODI SPIEGEL ARTHUR
Electric service was restored to nearly all customers impacted by Winter Storm Quiana by Tuesday afternoon, PECO said.
The utility had its crews, along with mutual aid crews from Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia and Virgina, working to restore service to the remaining customers without power Tuesday, PECO spokesman Tom Brubaker said shortly before the utility issued a press release.
The storm began moving through Southeastern Pennsylvania on Sunday and continued to cause damage to trees and electrical equipment through Monday evening, the press release said.
More than 160,000 outages occurred due to high sustained winds and gusts exceeding 50 miles per hour, PECO said. Of those, Brubaker said, 48,420 were in Bucks County.
When the press release was issued, shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday, crews were working to restore service to 1,837 customers still without power throughout the region. Of those, Brubaker said, 827 were in Bucks County.
Throughout Monday, persistent high winds downed trees and limbs, and limited the operation of bucket trucks used for overhead repairs. Additionally, crews were required to remove damaged trees from power lines before repairs could be completed, extending the duration of power restorations.
PECO said crews were working around the clock to restore service as safely and quickly as possible.
Doylestown Township Police Monday, issued several alerts for downed wires due to trees, one of which resulted in a dwelling fire.
Pine Run Road was closed be-tween Rickert Road and Limekiln Road due to downed powerlines, which caused a dwelling fire.
Turk Road was closed between Pebble Hill Road and Oak Drive due to trees down on wires blocking the roadway, and Edison Furlong Road was closed between Pebble Hill Road and Woodcrest Lane due to trees on wires.
Also closed was Cherry Lane between Pebble Hill and Short roads due to a tree on wires.
In Solebury Township, River Road (Route 32) was closed between Greenhill and Old Carversville roads due to a downed tree, and Pidcock Creek Road was closed between Pintail Pointe and Atkinson roads due to a tree down in wires.
Some stores in the New Hope-Solebury area were closed Monday, after power went out, and some traffic lights also were out.
Customers are urged to stay away from downed wires and equipment and to assume any downed wire is energized. Customers should immediately report downed wires or equipment by calling 800-841-4141, through social media channels or on
peco.com.
