ComEd customers left without power as snowstorm hits Chicago area; 32 CPS schools affected
CHICAGO (CBS) – Those with power Friday afternoon ought to consider themselves lucky – as at one point, there were more than 150,000 customers without power.
ComEd crews have been busy all day trying to repair outrages as snow continued to fall across the Chicago area. Up to 12 inches are expected, and up to 8.5 had already fallen in parts of the area by 1:30 p.m.
In all, about 174,000 ComEd customers lost power Friday.
ComEd said crews have restored power to more than 152,000 customers who lost power during the day. As of 3:30 p.m., approximately 21,000 homes and businesses remained without power. Approximately 1,700 workers were in the field trying to restore service to those without electricity.
A total of 32 Chicago Public Schools were impacted by power outages Friday.
Classes went on as scheduled with the assistance of emergency power sources – and power was back on at all the schools by 1 p.m. There was running water at all the schools, and CPS monitored the temperatures throughout the day in the event that students had to be relocated. Only students and staff at Rodolfo Lozano Bilingual & International Center Elementary School, 1501 N. Greenview Ave., had to be let out early due to safety concerns.
ComEd Communications Manager Tom Dominguez said the combination of heavy snow and winds led to accumulation on power lines and the trees surrounding them, causing outages and downed power lines.
In Chicago alone, as of 10 a.m., there had also been more than 200 service requests to the city's 311 line for reports of downed trees or limbs on Friday.
In Naperville, the combination of heavy, wet snow and strong winds caused a lot of damage to utility poles – and sent tree limbs crashing down onto power lines.
More than 2,000 households also lost power in Skokie Friday. ComEd crews were hard at work to change that before more snow was to arrive Friday night.
Skokie resident Karla Hernandez and her family had a tree fall through their roof.
"The whole house shook," Hernandez said. "My heart's still like…." She tapped her chest to indicate thumping.
About 8 percent of Skokie lost power Friday, according to ComEd.
Paul Riel has lived in Skokie for 32 years…
"All you can do is stay in the house and just shiver," he said.
Riel said it is rare to lose power in Skokie, and he was hoping it would be restored soon.
"I'm hoping it comes back on soon," he said. "This is a serious problem."
We heard the same thing from Steve Chiu, whose kids were home with school canceled.
"They just play board games," he said.
Chiu said his family is making backup plans, for another place to sleep - in case the power is not back on Friday night.
"Still bad weather," he said. "I still prepare for even worse conditions."
Power issues persist into night for some
In Rolling Meadows, power was down all day and into the night for residents near Barker Avenue and Plum Grove Drive – and generators were running constantly.
"I just got the newspaper, brought it in, and they next thing you know, I heard the pop - and heard a big pop, and all my electricity went off," said Diane Link.
And more than 12 hours later, Diane and Mel Link – along with close to 20 other homes on the block – remained in the dark, while the temperature inside kept falling.
"Without power, last time I checked, it was about 55 degrees," said Mel Link.
The Links were not using their generator for heat.
"That's to save any meat I have in my refrigerator and freezer," said Diane Link.
Others on the block stayed warm by sitting in their vehicles.
"Another neighbor just left to go to a hotel," said Dale Engelking, "Yeah, it's frustrating."
The storm sent ComEd crews into overtime. We spotted one crew in Antioch Friday night – who scrambled to get ahead of the outages.
Comed Communications Manager Tom Dominguez said restoration crews were focusing on high-priority areas, such as hospitals and emergency stations, and areas that will restore the most power to people.
During the peak of the Friday storm, the wet, heavy snow and strong winds left more than 150,000 customers without power.
Late Friday night, ComEd was still dealing with more than 900 outages.
"All we can do is hope," said Engelking.
In Round Lake, videographers captured the aftermath of a power line collapsing under the weight of all the snow and ice – sparking a dangerous electrical fire. People should stay away from downed powerlines and call 1800-EDISON-1.
Customers can track and report outages by viewing the map on the company's website or the ComEd app.
ComEd expects to restore power to those who lost it Friday by no later than 3 p.m. Saturday. But with temperatures dropping well below freezing, those in the dark home it's sooner.
A winter storm warning was issued for most of the CBS 2 viewing area through noon Saturday.