CLEVELAND – Torrence Hinton, president of FirstEnergy in Ohio, provided an update Friday morning on the company’s progress in restoring power to thousands of customers in Northeast Ohio and said most customers will have power back over the next week.
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“We are working around the clock to restore service to our customers,” Hinton said. “Many of us sympathize with our customers who continue to be without power because we also live and work in these communities.”
REMAINING FAILURES
Since Friday afternoon, the following districts have been affected by power outages:
- Cuyahoga: 126,651
- Ashtabula: 2,165
- Geauga: 15,503
- Lake: 24,978
- Lorraine: 6,237
- Peaks: 94
- Trumbull: 407
You can follow the press conference Here:
FirstEnergy expects power to be largely restored by next Wednesday
According to the company, 205,000 of the 470,000 customers affected by the storm had their power restored by around 10 a.m. on Friday.
Hinton says over 95% of customers can expect power to be restored by 11:30 p.m. Aug. 14. Clearing trees and other debris will prove challenging to restore power to the remaining 5%, but emergency crews are working around the clock.
“The lighting company hasn’t experienced a storm like this in about 30 years,” Hinton said.
The last storm of this strength hit Ohio in 1993.
According to the president, the company is working with more than 5,000 contractors to support reconstruction.
“We have the resources needed to get this work done in a timely manner and, most importantly, safely,” Hinton said.
He also addressed some speculation on social media that crews had been sent to Florida – which is not the case.
Catherine Ross of News 5 first reported on it last night.
No, FirstEnergy has not sent teams south to assist with Hurricane Debby
RELATED: FirstEnergy says it has not sent teams south to assist with Hurricane Debby
He also announced that the company has partnered with Giant Eagle to offer free water and ice to customers. Each customer will receive a free bag of ice and two gallons of water.
These are the locations:
First Energy
RELATED: Here you can find water, ice and mobile phones for charging
Customers flocked to grocery stores Friday to pick up supplies, with several stores in Mentor and Willoughby telling News 5 that their first shipment of ice cream sold out within an hour of opening.
Some who have been without power for nearly four days say it’s getting tiring, but they’re grateful for the work being done in their neighborhood.
“It might not come back until Saturday or Sunday,” Terry Polsak said. “It’s tough. You feel like you’re in the Stone Age. But when you drive around and see people’s yards and houses … because that’s what I went through last year.”
Polsak shared photos from August 2023, when storms brought down a large tree on her Lakeline home. She said she only completed the final repairs on Tuesday, hours before the latest storms hit.
Photo provided by Terry Polsak
She said the experience gave her a new perspective during the extended power outage.
“At some point I will get a generator,” she said.
Others used the electricity and amenities elsewhere.
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“This is our first hot meal in about four days,” said Mary Robertson, pointing to a burger she shared with her husband, Reed, at Tricky Tortoise Brewing Co. in Willoughby.
The brewery fills coolers with free ice, offers food discounts, and allows anyone to charge devices or use the internet.
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“It’s frustrating, but you can’t be frustrated right now. We have to stick together. We’re doing everything we can to keep our cool and help as many people as we can…” said General Manager Donny McCraith. “We have an obligation to help. If we can help, we will help.”
Hinton also asked the public to be patient during the recovery process, as even the company’s employees are affected by the same outages.
These teams work 16 hours a day.
Thousands of teams are working to restore power after Tuesday’s storms
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