Power company workers from multiple states are helping West Penn Power restore service to thousands of residents without electricity since Tuesday’s storms.
The workers set up a base in the parking lot of the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer.
“We have more than 4,000 FirstEnergy crews and external resources, including contracted line workers, to help us restore power after this ferocious storm — one of our worst on record,” said FirstEnergy spokesperson Todd Meyers. “Our local crews would not be able to tackle all of the repairs in timely fashion on their own.”
FirstEnergy is the parent company of West Penn Power. The crews are working to restore power in Pennsylvania and parts of West Virginia.
Meyers said most of the aid the company is receiving is from contractors, which is “standard practice in the utility business.”
“We have many of them working to get the lights back on for our customers, including some from Ohio and Illinois,” Meyers said.
FirstEnergy officials notified some of their contractors that the company might need assistance to get power back in advance of the storm, Meyers said.
“As soon as the storm rolled through, we immediately reached out to others across the region to let them know we needed help right away,” Meyers said.
According to a news release from FirstEnergy, by Thursday, May 1, power was restored to more than 275,000 of the 380,000 customers impacted by Tuesday’s storm.
T-Mobile
Workers from T-Mobile were set up in an adjacent parking lot working with the telephone company’s emergency response generators.
While the company did not immediately answer a request for comment, T-Mobile’s website said it uses the portable generators to provide temporary power to cell tower sites affected by power outages.
After determining a cell site needs power, the team sets up and connects the generator to the site to restore cellphone service.