ComEd power outage down to 60,000 customers as of Thursday afternoon after northern Illinois ice storm

More than 60,000 ComEd customers across northern Illinois remain without power following an ice storm that hit the region Wednesday.

ComEd has restored power to some 152,000 customers that were impacted by the storm.

“Overall, this storm, which had freezing rain and now we’re dealing with winds, it impacted probably a total of 212,000 customers,” said ComEd Communications Manager Tom Dominguez. “The ice alone will sometimes bring down power lines, although we’ve installed thicker cables over the last decade. But still, if the ice gets significant, it could bring down lines. And it could do the same to trees that are hanging over lines.”

According to ComEd’s outage map on its website, about 19,425 customers still remain without power in McHenry County, one of the areas hit the hardest by the ice storm. That is 14.39% of the 134,987 customers in McHenry County served by ComEd.

There currently are 2,122 outages across the region, affecting 59,175 customers. Nine-hundred additional electric crews from nearby states, such as Indiana and Kentucky, are helping crews restore power, Dominguez said.

“They are assisting so we can get all the customers restored as quickly as possible,” Dominguez said. “ComEd has done that for other utilities. When hurricanes have hit the gulf area, we sent crews out there.”

Dominguez said he expects about 80% of the power outages to be restored by 11 p.m. today and that all power will be restored by Saturday evening. Restoring power to schools is a priority for ComEd, he said.

To those people whose power hasn’t been restored by tonight, he recommended they find alternative places to stay to ensure their well-being.

“We are working with municipalities to identify areas where local residents could go if they’re concerned about being in these current temperatures and weather conditions,” Dominguez said. “If there’s someone who doesn’t feel like they want to be without power for a significant amount of time, they should check with their local municipality.”

Updates on power outages is available by signing up for outage alerts at ComEd.com/Alerts.

This isn’t the biggest power outage the region has seen by any means.

“Probably three years ago in August, we had a derecho that went through northern Illinois and that impacted everybody, including communities along the Iowa border and the Wisconsin border to Indiana,” Dominguez said. “But this was certainly a significant storm. The ice was coating lines and coating trees and bringing down power lines and actually a number of poles. And then it was followed up with high winds, which we have to be careful of when we’re sending bucket trucks up into the power lines. We have to be careful there.”