Washington, D.C. - A National Weather Service blizzard warning remains in effect through 6 a.m. Sunday, forecasting an additional 7 to 14 inches of snow and sustained winds up to 30 miles per hour with gusts as high as 50 miles per hour. 

 Due to the severity of the storm, significant outages could still occur. Roads impassable due to deep snow and fallen trees could slow restoration progress and result in outages lasting multiple days.  Both the District of Columbia and the State of Maryland have declared states of emergency.

Pepco is ready to restore power, with more than 1,000 field workers available, including over 500 Pepco linemen, contractors and tree crews as well as 250 onsite mutual assistance field personnel. 300 mutual assistance crews who were en route or on standby have asked to stay in place for now though they remain available and prepared to mobilize. Pepco also has more than 2,000 support staff available to meet customers' needs. 

 "Pepco understands that reliable electrical supply is critical to the everyday lives of customers, and as a result, Pepco remains prepared to safely restore service as quickly as possible," said Pepco Region President Donna Cooper. "We also are working closely with area governments to execute a coordinated community response to this severe weather event."

Pepco Mobilizes Crews and Staff

Pepco has received commitments for about 550 field workers from as far away as Maine and upstate New York. Combined with our existing crews already in place, we have more than 1,000 field workers available for storm response. The company has been working collaboratively with state, city and local emergency management agencies to ensure a coordinated community response.

After severe storms, assessing damage and estimating when customers will be restored could take up to 24 hours after the storm has moved from the area.  Crews are deployed to restore service only when weather conditions become safe. Crews are restricted from working on overhead power lines during adverse weather conditions such as snow storms, ice storms and when winds exceed 35 miles per hour.

Safety is our top priority. We urge our customers to stay clear of working crews and any wires hanging loose from poles or lying on the ground. Customers should always assume that downed wires are energized and avoid them. Customers are asked to immediately report a downed wire by calling 1-877-PEPCO-62 (1-877-737-2662). 

Customers can report outages by calling 1-877-PEPCO62, visiting pepco.com or through our mobile app, available for download at pepco.com/mobile app.  It is important that customers report their outages and request a call back to verify their power has been restored.

In addition, customers should be attentive to city alerts and emergency route signs and try to move their cars off the streets so snow plows and utility crews can get through.

Customers should check their emergency supply kits and be prepared in case they do lose power. Customers can find tips on preparing for a storm on our website, pepco.com.  For information on warming centers, customers in the District of Columbia and Maryland should call 311.