READING, Pa., Nov. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 2,000 workers from Metropolitan Edison Company (Met-Ed), other FirstEnergy utilities, and contractors continue to work around the clock to restore service following Hurricane Sandy, which tore through the company's 15-county Pennsylvania service area earlier this week.  As of 3 p.m. today, Met-Ed has restored service to approximately 240,000 customers – about 90 percent of the customers impacted by the hurricane – with about 30,000 still without power. 

Significant damage from downed trees and branches in hard-hit Berks, Bucks, Northampton, Monroe and Pike counties are the major cause of remaining outages.  Staging sites in Nazareth and Nockamixon State Park are being used to help coordinate and speed completion of restoration efforts in Bucks, Northampton, Monroe and Pike counties.  A third staging site in Oley is supporting restoration efforts in the Reading/Berks area. 

"We continue to work as quickly and safely as possible through our restoration plan to return full service to all customers," said Mike Doran, Met-Ed regional president.  "We have made good, steady progress and believe our restoration efforts will be completed very early this coming week.  Thanks to our customers for their patience as we recover from this historic storm; we know the inconvenience a power outage causes.

"Safety continues to be our primary concern – for our customers, the general public and our employees.  As a reminder, some communities will be holding Trick or Treat events today – it's important for everyone to remember to never go near a downed power line or remove trees, limbs or branches from power lines.  Thanks are also extended to the crews engaged in restoration for working in a safe, diligent manner to restore service to customers," Doran added.

Information about Met-Ed's restoration efforts is being shared with local officials and customers as soon as it is available.

For updated information on the company's restoration efforts, current outages, FirstEnergy's storm restoration process and tips for staying safe, go to www.firstenergycorp.com.   Met-Ed will also provide updates via Twitter @Met_Ed.

Met-Ed urges any customer who has not yet reported their outage to do so.  FirstEnergy customer call centers are fully staffed.  To report an outage or a downed line, Met-Ed customers should call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877). 

Met-Ed serves approximately 550,000 customers in 15 Pennsylvania counties.

FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) is a diversified energy company dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence.  Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and West Virginia.  Its generation subsidiaries control more than 20,000 megawatts of capacity from a diversified mix of scrubbed coal, non-emitting nuclear, natural gas, hydro, pumped-storage hydro and other renewables.  Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.