​WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 11, 2018) – With Hurricane Florence expected to bear down on the eastern seaboard in less than 36 hours, Pepco's full emergency response organization is ready.  Employees and local contractors have inspected equipment, reviewed procedures and assembled staffing plans to ensure around-the-clock support to respond to any potential impacts from this storm.

In addition to more than 200 internal line workers, Pepco has an additional 404 contractors and 153 tree-trimming personnel as well as crews from its sister utilities Atlantic City Electric and Delmarva Power available to assist in any needed restoration effort. The company is also partnering with city or county or state government to ensure safety and service to greatest extent possible. Should extra assistance be required, the company will call on shared resources from its Exelon family, including Baltimore Gas & Electric, PECO in Philadelphia, and ComEd in Chicago. 

Over the years, Pepco has sent thousands of crews and support personnel to assist utilities, in our region and across the country, as part of mutual assistance networks. Should Florence not impact the Pepco service area, company personnel and local contractors will once again be ready to answer the call of needed support for other impacted utilities. Pepco most recently provided restoration assistance in Puerto Rico and to areas of Florida and Georgia that were affected by Hurricane Irma last September.

The safety of our customers and communities is always our top priority. We encourage our customers to also prepare and stay safe during severe weather events:

Preparation tips:

• Have a flashlight with fresh batteries on each floor of your home.
• Keep a supply of bottled water and easy-to-prepare, non-perishable foods available.
• Charge cell phones and other mobile devices in advance.
• Have an updated   emergency supply kit. Keep a portable radio or TV, or NOAA weather radio (with batteries) on hand to monitor weather forecasts and official information.

Safety tips:

• Stay away from downed wires and assume any downed wire or damaged electric equipment is energized.
• Do not enter basements that are flooded, because water at certain levels can be energized.
• Stay away from any flood-covered electric equipment in neighborhoods, even if there is no electricity in the area.
• When using a personal generator, never keep it indoors or inside an attached garage. A portable generator is an internal combustion engine that exhausts a deadly gas called carbon monoxide or CO.
• Also, do not connect a generator directly to the home's wiring. If a generator is plugged into the electrical circuits of a home, power can back-feed onto the local energy grid and cause severe injuries.
• Customers are also encouraged to identify a safe alternate location where they can stay in case of an extended outage
• Stay tuned to local news broadcasts for the latest weather and emergency information and follow the advice of local emergency management officials.

To report an outage or downed wire, customers should call 1-877-PEPCO-62 (1-877-737-2662) or customers can report and track their outage through our mobile app or our website at pepco.com.

If outages do occur, crews will assess the damage and assign an estimated restoration time. Depending on the extent of damages, restorations times can change.  For example, when Pepco crews arrive on site and assess damage for an outage, customers receive an updated estimated restoration time. The company then continues to update the estimated restoration time as crews complete their work.

More information about how to prepare can be found on the "Storm Readiness" section of pepco.com​

To learn more, readers are encouraged to visit The Source, Pepco's online news room. Find additional information about Pepco by visiting www.pepco.com. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pepcoconnect and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pepcoconnect. Our mobile app is available at www.pepco.com/mobileapp.      

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 About Pepco: Pepco, a public utility owned by Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), provides safe and reliable energy to more than 842,000 electric delivery customers in Maryland and the District of Columbia.