Met-Ed, PPL ready as high winds threaten outages - 69News WFMZ-TV

Met-Ed, PPL ready as high winds threaten outages | Berks Regional News | wfmz.com

READING, Pa. – Potentially heavy winds have power companies in our area on alert. Both Met-Ed and PPL said they expect there could be outages.

"We've put all our employees, our line workers, on notice, as well as some of the contractors that we have doing construction work and reliability work," said Todd Meyers, Met-Ed spokesperson.

He said tree trimmers have been notified, too.

Meyers says during a storm situation, crews spend 16 hours on duty and then eight hours off until the last customer is back in service.

"We do alternate those shifts a little bit to make sure people are working pretty much around the clock," Meyers said.

So far, he said crews from outside areas have not yet had to be called in.

"It's one of those events where everybody is sort of in the mix," Meyers explained. "People are going to be keeping their own line workers and their resources sort of close to home until they see what happens."

The companies said when it comes to repairs, areas with the largest number of people are prioritized first.

Both Met-Ed and PPL tell us if you see a downed wire, assume it is live and stay away from it.

"They can come down. They don't need to be looking like they're visibly energized. They don't need to be skipping around and sparking," Meyers said. "They can kill you just laying there looking like they're inert, but they're still alive."

Outages can be reported to both companies online, by calling or texting.

Both companies said to have necessities like food and water on hand, in case you lose power.

They also said you should use flashlights and not candles.

For information about how to report outages, visit the PPL website or the Met-Ed website.