Rising to the Challenge: PECO Teams Restore Power After Historic Storm

In the aftermath of one of the most destructive weather events in recent memory, PECO employees across southeastern Pennsylvania demonstrated extraordinary resilience, teamwork, and dedication. The severe storm that struck on Thursday, June 19, brought wind gusts nearing 60 mph and significant rain, causing widespread damage and power outages across the region.

At the storm’s peak, more than 327,000 PECO customers were without power, making this one of the top 20 most damaging storms in the company’s history.

The storm’s impact was so severe that it resembled the aftermath of a tornado or hurricane, with downed trees, toppled utility poles, which caused complex outages and blocked roadways. In many cases the tree-related damage needed to be cleared before any power restoration work could begin.

Despite these challenges—and amid a sweltering heat wave with temperatures soaring into the 100s—teams worked tirelessly to restore service. By June 22, more than 300,000 customers had their power restored, thanks to the efforts of over 3,000 PECO employees and 2,900 additional support personnel from across the country.

By the numbers

• 700+ vegetation jobs (trimming fallen trees/branches/limbs causing outages)
• 74 miles of wire and cable replaced
• 10,710 fuses replaced
• 1,390 crossarms replaced
• 285 transformers replaced

Behind the scenes, teams in logistics, dispatching, communications, planning, and customer support played a critical role in ensuring smooth operations.

While PECO responded to the significant punch delivered by Mother Nature, the company continues to proactively invest in the local energy grid to strengthen the system to make it more reliable and resilient in the face of intensifying storms. More than $9.3 billion is being invested during the next five years across PECO’s electric and natural gas systems to help reinforce infrastructure and prevent significant damage and outages from future severe storm events like the one the region just experienced.