ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – With extreme cold temperatures moving through northern Illinois, ComEd take steps to respond quickly to any customer interruptions and ensure public safety.
“This is going to be a dangerous cold event that will spread across our entire system,” said David Perez, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of ComEd. “Our teams are actively monitoring the system and are fully prepared to respond, with crews ready to restore any outages swiftly and safely.”
ComEd says they have taken precautions like inspecting powerlines and manholes, trimming trees and making system upgrades to minimize storm impacts.
The company says there are steps customers can take to remain energy efficient even throughout these dangerously low temperatures:
- Clear area around heating and cooling vents. Blockages makes heating systems work harder and prevents rooms from warming up quickly.
- Clean or replace air filters once a month. Dirty air filters make your furnace work harder to circulate air.
- Weatherstrip windows and doors. Seal cracks in the walls with caulk or foam.
- Set your thermostat for as low as possible to stay comfortable.
- Open shades when the sun is out to take advantage of the natural light’s warmth. Close shades at night to help insulate your home.
ComEd also reminds customers to take the following precautions to ensure safety:
- If you see a downed power line, call ComEd at 1-800-EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661), or 1-800-944-8237 for Spanish speaking customers.
- Never approach a downed powerline and always assume they are extremely dangerous.
- In the event of an outage, do not approach ComEd crews working to restore power. Crews may be working on live electrical equipment and the perimeter of the work zone could be hazardous.
For more information and an interactive outage map, visit ComEd’s website.
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