Chicago, IL – ComEd crews continue working across northern Illinois to restore power following a powerful round of severe weather that left hundreds of thousands of customers without electricity and caused widespread damage throughout the region.
According to ComEd, approximately 384,000 customers had their power restored as of 6 p.m. Thursday following storms that brought damaging winds, lightning, hail and numerous downed trees across northern Illinois.
The utility said some of the most heavily impacted areas include communities stretching from Crestwood to Chicago and from Joliet to Alsip, where fallen trees and downed power lines caused extensive service disruptions.
More than 2,900 utility personnel are currently involved in restoration efforts throughout the service area. Despite additional severe weather moving through Thursday evening, crews continued working to repair damaged infrastructure where conditions allowed.
ComEd said restoration priorities focus first on repairs that return service to the largest number of customers, as well as critical facilities such as hospitals, police departments and fire stations. Crews then move into neighborhoods and smaller outage areas.
For customers still without power from Wednesday’s storms, the company said service is expected to be restored by Saturday evening, if not sooner, provided weather conditions remain safe for workers.
Officials noted that additional storms could create new outages and damage, which would require further assessments before repairs can begin.
Residents are urged to remain cautious around storm-damaged areas and avoid all downed power lines, which should be treated as energized and dangerous.
Customers can report outages and check restoration updates through ComEd’s outage tracking tools at ComEd.com/Storm.
The utility said crews will continue working until service has been safely restored to all affected customers.
