Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Friday’s storm that ushered in near-zero temperatures caused several thousand people to lose power in the Levittown area.
The storm brought heavy rain, strong winds, a burst of snow, and temperatures that dropped to the single digits. The extreme cold is expected to last through the Christmas weekend.
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Strong winds caused downed limbs and left more than 2,000 customers without power in Bristol Borough, Bristol Township, Penndel Borough, Middletown Township, and Langhorne Manor Borough late Friday afternoon through the evening.
PECO crews restored power to most by Friday night and into Saturday morning.
As of Saturday mid-morning, PECO reported about three dozen customers in the Levittown area were in the dark.
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PJM Interconnection, the company that runs electricity grid for 65 million people in 13 states, including Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C., issued a request that customers conserve power between Saturday morning and 10 a.m. on Christmas Day.
“Demand for electricity is expected to increase in the PJM region and the regions neighboring PJM because of the extremely cold weather,” PJM Interconnection said in a statement.
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The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) echoed PJM Interconnection’s request amid the frigid weather.
“Conserving electricity as much as possible over the weekend will help ensure adequate power supplies. PJM continues to carefully monitor the power supply conditions and is coordinating efforts among generators, power suppliers and local utilities. PJM is communicating about the situation with state government officials throughout the region, and PJM and the PUC will continue to inform the public about the situation,” the commission said.
PJM Interconnection issued the following tips to conserve power:
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• Setting thermostats lower than usual, if health permits
• Postponing use of major electric appliances such as stoves, dishwashers and clothes dryers until other times and
• Turning off non-essential electric lights, equipment and appliances
On Friday due to the storm, the Delaware River in Bristol Borough spilled its banks and flooded the Mill Street Parking Lot.
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Bristol Borough officials advised residents to remove the cars from the parking lot as water poured in.
By late afternoon, the water began to recede and borough public works crews cleared debris and leaves left behind by the flooding.
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The National Weather Service river forecast for Saturday for the Bristol area showed the river getting close to minor flood stage in the afternoon, but not reaching a flooding level.
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