WASHINGTON — Thousands across the region are still in the dark Thursday after Wednesday’s ice storm caused power outages.
Among the hardest hit areas is Frederick County, Md., where more than 18,000 Potomac Edison customers are without power as of 11:45 a.m. Thursday. On Wednesday, Potomac Edison Spokesman Todd Meyers said outages would be a multiple-day restoration effort.
The goal is to restore power to a majority of customers by midnight Friday, Meyers said on WTOP Thursday. Aiding in the restoration are about 1,100 linemen and forestry crews — hundreds of which are dedicated to Frederick County.
Potomac Edison is reporting more than 27,000 customers with outages in Maryland as of 11:45 a.m. The utility company is working to get a more detailed breakdown of when each county’s power will be restored.
BGE is working to restores power to the more than 38,000 customers without power as of 11:45 a.m. Thursday. The total includes more than 21,000 customers with outages in Baltimore, more than 10,000 in Carroll County and more than 1,300 in Howard County.
BGE Spokeswoman Rachael Lighty says more than 400 linemen are joining local BGE crews to help bring back power to customers.
“Baltimore County and Carroll County remain the hardest hit areas for BGE,” Lighty says. “They are definitely the areas that saw the highest accumulation of ice and have seen the coldest temperatures.”
The vast majority of BGE customers will have power restored by Thursday, but “some may extend into [Friday] if they have extensive damage,” Lighty says.
Power has been restored to all Rappahannock Electric Cooperative customers as of 11:45 a.m. Thursday after about 100 outages earlier in the day.
Across the country, more than a million homes and businesses were left in darkness and cold Wednesday after snow, sleet and freezing rain moved into the Northeast.
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