(Washington, D.C. - 7 a.m.) Pepco crews worked around the clock, making significant progress to restore power to customers affected by Saturday's snowstorm. The heavy snow brought trees and branches down on power lines across Pepco's system, cutting power to thousands of customers in the District of Columbia and Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland.

At peak, 61,000 customers were without power. By midnight Sunday, Pepco crews had restored power to a large portion of those without power. As crews made repairs and moved on to the next site, however, trees and branches continued to fall, causing new outages on the system.

At 7 a.m., the estimated numbers of outages are:

Pepco crews will continue to work around the clock to restore power to customers as quickly as possible. Pepco expects the majority of customers to have their power restored between 6 p.m. and midnight on Monday. Based on the current damage assessment, all power is expected to be restored by noon on Tuesday.

"Our crews have done an impressive job of restoring hundreds of downed wires and repairing transformers and other equipment damaged by the severe storm," says Tom Graham, Pepco's Regional President. "For the first several hours, they worked while snow was still falling. Travel to the sites was also treacherous, with downed trees and snow-clogged roads impeding their progress. But since we equipped the trucks with snow chains, the crews were able to reach the work sites."

Following established storm damage response procedures, Pepco crews responded first to dangerous situations such as live downed wires, and then proceeded to repair damage affecting the largest number of customers. They continue to work at full capacity, moving down the list of priorities to those lines serving the fewest customers.

"We are well aware that customers are badly inconvenienced while waiting for the crews to restore power to their neighborhoods," Graham says. "We sympathize with the difficulties that a power outage causes them, and we are making repairs as quickly as we can."

The bulk of customers still without power should have it restored by Tuesday.

Customers who are without power who have not reported their outage should do so immediately. To report outages and receive updated information, customers are asked to call 1-877-PEPCO-62.

Until power is restored, here are tips to keep you safe, protect your food, home and belongings:

Safety

• Pepco strongly encourages customers to make safety a priority. Stay away from downed power lines. All downed lines should be treated as if they are energized, and individuals should not approach them or touch them. If you see a downed wire call Pepco at 202-872-3432.
• Keep away from flooded areas and stay indoors. If you experience a power outage, check for electrical damage inside your home, such as frayed wires, sparks or the smell of burning insulation. If you find damage, don't turn your power on until an electrician inspects your system and makes necessary repairs. Remember, electricity and water is a dangerous combination. Even wading in a shallow puddle or flooded basement that is exposed to an energized line could lead to harmful electrical contact.
• Do not use barbecue grills or other outdoor equipment to heat inside your home. Do not burn charcoal inside your home, even in the fireplace. Carbon monoxide poisoning can result and can be fatal.
• Do not leave a fire unattended in your fireplace, and always use a fire screen when using your fireplace.
• Avoid using candles for light. If candles are used, never leave them unattended.
• Never leave children or pets unattended near fires or candles.
• Keep a working fire extinguisher handy at all times.

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 when 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 at www.pepco.com.

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Pepco, a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: POM), delivers safe, reliable and affordable electric service to more than 725,000 customers in Maryland and the District of Columbia.