Utility prepared for possibility of significant heavy, wet snow; sleet; and ice

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Pepco is closely monitoring an approaching winter storm. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the Washington Metropolitan Area that is expected to bring freezing rain; heavy, wet snow; and gusty winds into the service territory. According to the National Weather Service, the total accumulation for our region is expected to be between 4 to 8 inches. Pepco is preparing for the worst of the forecasts.

Heavy, wet snow; ice; and high winds can bring tree limbs into contact with power lines to cause power outages. Heavy rain and oversaturated soil can allow trees already weakened by previous storms to fall onto power lines and equipment to cause power outages. Outages can also occur due to drivers skidding into utility poles along wet roads.

In anticipation of the storm, Pepco will have extra line and tree crews available, and the Call Center will be staffed overnight. In addition to internal crews, Pepco has more than 450 overhead line contractors already working on the system available if needed. Pepco Holdings Inc. (PHI), parent company for Pepco, is also asking for more contractor support and has asked for 400 mutual assistance crews from other utilities. We have commitments for 275 of these and they will be arriving on our system today. They will be assigned as needed. More than 1,600 Pepco employees and contractors are prepared to meet Pepco customers' needs during this winter storm.

This existing force includes field crews, call center customer service representatives and support staff.

Safety is our No. 1 priority. We urge our customers to stay clear of working crews and any wires hanging loose from poles or lying on the ground. If you see a downed power line, stay away from it. Assume that all downed power lines are live and extremely dangerous.

Customers are asked to please call in any downed wires and/or report an outage by calling 1-877-PEPCO-62 (1-877-737-2662). It is important that customers report their outage and request a call back to verify their power has been restored. Outages also may be reported through pepco.com or through our mobile app.

For more information and updates, visit www.pepco.com and follow Pepco at www.twitter.com/PepcoConnect.