Pepco to Restore Power to Vast Majority of Customers by 11 p.m. Friday

WASHINGTON - Pepco estimates it should have power restored to the vast majority of people without electric service due to Wednesday night's rush hour storm by 11 p.m. Friday, January 28. Pepco is asking customers whose power is not restored by Friday 11 p.m. to please call 1-877-PEPCO-62 or - 877-737-2662

Presently there are more than 500 people working to restore power while 500 external mutual assistance crews are arriving from Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and the Carolinas. A combination of heavy wet snow, wind and lightning that ripped through the Washington Metropolitan Region during last night's rush hour has caused a large number of power outages.

Hazardous weather and road conditions hindered the initial restoration and damage assessment.

Pepco has requested and will receive additional out-of-state assistance later today. An additional 120 people are arriving from as far west as Ohio. Pepco will also coordinate its power restoration efforts with emergency management personnel and local government officials.

Pepco recognizes the inconvenience this storm has caused and understands how difficult it is especially with the cold temperatures. The company appreciates the patience of our customers and community leaders as we work together to recover from this storm.

Power Restoration Process - How Pepco Restores Power

Pepco repairs equipment that will restore the largest numbers of customers first. Generally, the power restoration sequence is as follows:

• Downed live wires or potentially life-threatening situations and public health and safety facilities without power
• Transmission lines serving thousands of customers
• Substation equipment
• Main distribution lines serving large numbers of customers
• Secondary lines serving neighborhoods
• Service lines to individual homes and businesses

Pepco urges customers to stay safe and be prepared. Here are some additional tips:

• Assemble an emergency storm kit. Include a battery-powered radio or television, flashlight, first-aid kit, battery-powered or windup clock, extra batteries, non-perishable food, manual can opener, bottled water, any necessary medications and a list of emergency phone numbers.
• Maintain a supply of extra blankets.
• Ensure that all household members have a warm coat, gloves, hat and water-resistant boots.
• Make sure your home has a telephone with a cord or cell phone to use as a backup. Cordless telephones require electricity to operate, and won't work if there is an outage.
• Identify a place for emergency shelter in case of an extended outage. It is important that customers with special needs or their caregivers take responsibility to make arrangements ahead of time to prepare for potentially long-lasting service interruptions.

Additional information may be found 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 778,000 customers in Maryland and the District of Columbia.