As PECO’s customer service and response workers are on strike, local customers are dealing with impacts to service amid hot weather and strong lines of storms.
With several hundred residents in the Levittown area reported to be without service as of Sunday afternoon, according to PECO’s data, local residents are voicing concerns about restoration response times.
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In Bristol Township and Tullytown Borough, severe Friday night storms brought down a tree, damaging a transformer and knocking out power for residents on Shadetree Lane and nearby streets in the Levittown section.
Resident Connie Meyer said her electricity went out around 8:30 p.m. Friday.
PECO first projected power would be restored by 10:30 p.m., but that deadline passed without leading to the lights coming back on.
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At 12:01 a.m. Saturday, workers represented by IBEW Local 614 went on strike.
Meyer said she checked the status of the outage again Saturday afternoon. At that point, PECO advised they were aware of the issue.
By 4 p.m. Sunday, Meyer and her neighbors were still without electricity.
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“It’s like camping without all the fun,” Meyer said, adding that she had to empty her refrigerator and freezer of spoiled food due to the multi-day outage. “We’re taking it in stride.”
“I was hearing the restoration times and saying, ‘I don’t think so,’” she said. “They were giving me a lot of hoo-hoo.”
With overnight temperatures reaching 90 degrees, a firefighter advised one of Meyer’s neighbors to find a place to stay during the prolonged outage.
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Meyer has been managing the heat by taking cold showers and relying on breezes through her doors.
“I’m living like the pioneer days,” Meyer said.
A PECO spokesperson stated they were looking into the outage Meyer has been dealing with.
In Middletown Township, residents in the Maple Point and Highland Gate neighborhoods experienced downed wires and a pole fire that smoldered for much of Sunday.
Power in that area was knocked out Saturday night and 502 customers remained in the dark as of Sunday evening.
@levittownnow In Middletown Township, residents in the Maple Point and Highland Gate neighborhoods experienced downed wires and a pole fire that smoldered for much of Sunday. #buckscounty #levittownnow #middletowntwp ♬ original sound – LevittownNow.com
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The situation led to the Langhorne-Middletown Fire Company to issue a public notice advising residents to stop calling 9-1-1 about the burning pole, adding that emergency officials were aware of the hazard and were waiting on PECO to address it.
Video captured by resident Kristina Ulmer showed the pole smoldering with much of its structure burnt through.
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“For your safety please do not walk down the grass easement or get near the pole until PECO has been able to fix the damage,” the fire company said in a social media post.
PECO crews arrived at the scene late Sunday afternoon.
“Crews are working to remove the trees in the area to then be able to repair the electrical equipment. Crews are on-site and there are currently 502 customers without power, and they are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore service,” Izamarie Camacho, a PECO spokesperson, said.
(UPDATE at 7:52 p.m., Sunday: Power was restored in the Middletown Township neighborhoods.)
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IBEW Local 614 represents the linemen, gas technicians, mechanics, call center workers, and back office workers for PECO’s electric and natural gas systems.
IBEW Local 614 members continued their strike Sunday evening.
Camacho said PECO supervisors and foremen, who are not part of the union strike, are working to fill the gap.
“We are also securing additional field support from outside of our region to further assist us, from states as far as North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. Utilizing contractors and crews from outside of our region is very common, especially during large storm events. This allows PECO to increase staffing during storms or emergencies to ensure we can restore service as quickly as possible for customers. We have a strong complement of resources and back-office support,” Camacho said.
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With more storms expected Sunday and Monday, the company has activated its Emergency Response Organization, which will bring in all available field staff who are not on strike.
Members warned PECO customers to be safe if they see downed power lines, burning or smoking utility poles, and electrical conductors on the ground.
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“This work requires highly trained union professionals because mistakes around high voltage can be deadly. As communities deal with widespread outages, it’s disappointing that PECO has chosen to prolong this strike instead of getting the experienced workforce that safely responds to these emergencies back on the job. The fastest path to restoring experienced crews to the field is reaching a fair agreement,” said Larry Anastasi, president and business manager of IBEW Local 614.
PECO’s outage map was “temporarily disabled to ensure the safety of crews,” Camacho said.
