FirstEnergy Utilities is sending nearly 240 line workers, damage assessors and transmission personnel toward Florida in anticipation of power restoration efforts following Hurricane Dorian.
Jersey Central Power & Light has designated 16 line crews as part of this effort.
Crews left early Friday morning from various FEU facilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia and Maryland. All personnel should arrive by Saturday evening at a staging area outside the hurricane-impacted region. There they will wait until the storm passes and restoration efforts can begin.
FirstEnergy also is releasing approximately 200 forestry and line contractor crews so they can lend assistance.
FirstEnergy belongs to various electric utility mutual-assistance groups that work cooperatively to restore service to customers when a natural disaster causes large-scale power outages. All 10 of our utility operating companies are part of the Dorian assistance effort, which includes crews from Ohio Edison, Penn Power, The Illuminating Company (CEI), Toledo Edison, Penelec, West Penn Power, Met-Ed, Mon Power, Potomac Edison and Jersey Central Power & Light.
Hurricane Dorian is gaining strength in the Atlantic Ocean after battering the U.S. Virgin Islands and dealing a glancing blow to Puerto Rico. The storm, the strongest of the Atlantic hurricane season so far, is expected to make landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane Monday morning. In addition to packing winds of 130 miles per hour or more, rainfall totals are expected to reach 12-24 inches in places. Once ashore, the storm is expected to slow down and weaken as it turns north and heads for Georgia.
