For Immediate Release
July 24, 2005

(Washington, D.C. - 12:00 p.m.) About 145 Pepco repair crews continue working today to restore power to customers without service due to what may have been a microburst that hit the Washington area without warning early Saturday morning. Most of the outages were caused by tree limbs that took down power lines and severely damaged or destroyed poles.

At peak, more than 55,000 customers were without power. As of Sunday afternoon, more than 45,000 customers' power has been restored. Based on the current damage assessment; all power is expected to be restored by Monday afternoon.

How Power is Restored

1. Pepco works first to restore power to potentially life-threatening situations, such as downed live wires or hospitals Police, Fire, 911 facilities.
2. Pepco then works to restore power to the largest number of customers at one time by focusing on repairs to substations and major feeder lines. (Completion of these repairs often results in restored power to thousands of customers at once.)
3. Pepco then works to restore power to smaller groups of customers or neighborhoods.
4. Finally, Pepco works to restore power to individual homes and businesses. Pepco`s System Operations maintains contact with state and local emergency management agencies and designated company staff who keep the news media and public officials up to date on the status of restoration efforts.

Important Safety Message
Pepco strongly urges customers to make safety a priority by staying away from downed power lines and to not cross any barricades surrounding downed power lines. All downed lines should be treated as if they are energized and individuals should not approach or touch them. If citizens see a downed wire or have a power outage, they should call 1-877-PEPCO-62 and report it.

Protecting Your Food

• Keep freezer and refrigerator doors closed; open them only when absolutely necessary. Food will stay frozen for 36 - 48 hours in a fully loaded freezer if you keep the door closed.
• A half-full freezer will generally keep food frozen for 24 hours.

Protecting Your Home and Belongings

• Turn off all appliances, including your furnace, air conditioner, water heater and water pump. That way, you can avoid a circuit overload and another outage that may result when power is restored to all appliances at once.
• Leave on one lamp so you`ll know that the power has been restored.

It is Important to be Prepared
As part of our storm preparedness information, we encourage customers to always keep these items on hand:

• Flashlights and fresh batteries
• Battery-powered radio
• Battery-powered or wind-up alarm clock
• A supply of bottled water (1 gallon per person per day)
• Non-perishable foods that require no heating
• Blankets, bedding, or sleeping bags
• First Aid Kit & medications
• Hand-operated can opener
• Special items for infants, the elderly or family members with special needs
• Hand tools such as a screwdriver; scissors; duct tape; plastic; paper; waterproof matches; household bleach
• Identification and copies of important family documents
• Emergency Services and Pepco telephone numbers

It is recommended that these items be stored ahead of time in an "Emergency Go Kit" in order to save valuable time and to be prepared in the event of a wide variety of potential emergencies.

For more safety and emergency preparedness tips, log onto the Pepco Storm Center.