MORRISTOWN, N.J., Nov. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Jersey Central Power & Light has restored service to 99 percent of customers affected by Hurricane Sandy and the recent nor'easter, the company said Sunday, November 11.  The majority of the remaining 19,000 restorable customers should be returned to service by tonight.  The total restoration effort includes the 130,000 customers who were affected by the nor'easter.  More than 8,000 linemen and forestry workers, as well as thousands of support staff, are working to complete this massive restoration effort.

About 30,000 of the company's customers on the barrier islands and in shoreline communities cannot be restored to service at this time due to massive infrastructure damage in that area.  The company is working with local, state and federal officials to develop a full recovery plan for that area. 

More than 1.3 million outages were reported during the two recent storms.  These storms did more damage to the company's infrastructure than 2011's Hurricane Irene and October snowstorm combined.

"We're down to the most time-consuming part of the effort – restoring individual homes to service," said Don Lynch, president of JCP&L.  "We thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding.  I also extend a special thanks to the other utilities, contractors, police, fire and emergency management officials for their dedicated efforts in keeping public safety a priority and helping us meet the unprecedented challenges of this disastrous storm.  They continue to do an incredibly difficult job under very trying conditions."

As local power lines were repaired and put back in service in recent days, damage to individual customers' service lines and equipment was identified, and that work continues today.  JCP&L has been working with local officials to assure these affected "single no lights" customers are ready to be connected.  In some cases repair needs to be made to the home by a licensed electrician before service can be restored.

As restoration work continues, customers are cautioned never to touch downed lines.  Always assume downed wires are carrying electricity and keep children and pets away from them.  Downed wires should be reported immediately to your electric company or local police or fire department.  Customers should never try to remove trees or limbs from power lines because they could conduct electricity.  They should wait for emergency services or utility crews to arrive.

For updated information on the company's remaining outages, FirstEnergy's storm restoration process and tips for staying safe, visit the 24/7 Power Center at www.firstenergycorp.com/outages.  JCP&L customers can find the latest information on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JCPandL, and can receive updates via Twitter @JCP_L.

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.

www.firstenergycorp.com

SOURCE FirstEnergy