WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Pepco crews will be working around the clock tonight to restore power to the more than 40,000 customers left without power after strong thunderstorms moved through our service territory this evening. Strong winds downed trees, power lines and poles.

We expect to have power restored to all customers by the end of the day Wednesday. More detailed times of restoration will be available by morning.

We have about 150 internal linemen and more than 450 contractors already working on our system who are available if needed, and  the Call Center will be staffed overnight.

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.

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