From First Energy

Approximately 329,700 Illuminating Company customers lost power from the storm Tuesday evening, and 192,300 remain without power, primarily in the hardest-hit areas of Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties.

Thousands of line workers, hazard responders, damage assessors, forestry crews and other support personnel are assisting the restoration effort. We will continue to shift additional workers into northeast Ohio as restoration efforts wind down in other parts of the FirstEnergy footprint and the threat from Tropical Storm Debby passes.

Our service territory has sustained significant and widespread damage, in part due to 4 confirmed tornadoes and a macro-burst – an area of damaging 70-90 mph straight-line winds covering roughly 225 square miles in Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties. So far, more than 350 broken poles have been identified in Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake and Lorain counties. Crews are actively replacing these poles, along with hanging hundreds of spans of wire. We continue to work with local communities and tree crews to clear hazards and re-open road closures. 

Restoration is ongoing around the clock, with power actively being restored to customers all the time. FirstEnergy estimates that power will be restored to the vast majority of customers by Wednesday, August 14. 

FirstEnergy crews were in our communities when the storm arrived, and more than 3,000 additional workers joined the effort in less than 24 hours. Currently, more than 6,000 personnel from the company, contractors and mutual assistance organizations are engaged in restoration. ​Contractor crews supporting the restoration effort came companies in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, New York, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Personnel will continue to work around the clock in 16-hour shifts to make repairs as quickly and safely as possible.

Customers can locate their best current Individual ETR by logging into their account at www.firstenergycorp.com, texting STAT to 54487, or viewing the outage map at www.firstenergycorp.com/outagesWe have also set up Water & Ice distribution through Giant Eagle and various Whole Distribution at community locations. Customers who remain without power can pick up two (2) gallons of bottled water and one (1) bag of ice, upon request, at no cost to them. Below is the link for details:

https://www.firstenergycorp.com/outages_help/storm_info/water-ice.html

We know this is a difficult time for many of you. We truly thank you for your continued patience and understanding, and for the incredible support for our crews in the field. We'll be working 24/7 to get you back up and running!