More than 194,000 FirstEnergy customers remained without power Friday after storms whipped through Northeast Ohio Tuesday afternoon.
About 95% of customers will have power restored by 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Torrence Hinton, president of FirstEnergy Ohio, during a news conference Friday morning.
"That doesn't mean that customers out right now will not have their service restored until next week Wednesday. What that simply means is we expect to have the significant number of our customers restored by next week, Wednesday," Hinton said, adding that some residents may be in the dark beyond Wednesday.
"There's a likelihood that some, a very small percentage, will remain off," he said. "We will make sure as that date approaches, we communicate areas that remain off and what we're doing to get them back restored."
There were more than 195,000 customers without service as of 12:30 p.m. Friday, according to FirstEnergy's outage map, while more than 6,900 Cleveland Public Power residents are also without service, CPP said Friday morning.
More than 5,000 contractors have responded to the region, including crews from other utility partners to restore power, Hinton said. Downed trees and powerlines pose challenges to line crews out working to restore service, he noted.
"Crews basically have to work to find and isolate the damage to secure public safety hazards that exist from this weather event," Hinton said. "Then we have forestry crews that come into the area to clear the trees and the debris before we have our repair crew men come in to fix the damaged lines."
The National Weather Service confirmed four tornadoes touched down Tuesday in the areas of Bay Village, Brook Park, Chesterland and Richfield. No serious injuries or deaths were reported.
Relief centers opened across Northeast Ohio to provide residents with a place to charge devices, get food and cool off.
Hinton said FirstEnergy has partnered with Giant Eagle to provide aid to customers, who can visit a store for a free bag of ice and two gallons of water.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine issued a proclamation Friday directing state agencies to be prepared to assist Northeast Ohio.
"[Whereas] the state is prepared to provide assistance with recovery efforts and prepared to prevent and respond to any secondary impacts that may result from prolonged power outages if needed and requested by local authorities," the proclamation read.
The Ohio Emergency Management Agency will continue to monitor progress, DeWine said.
Local public officials, including Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake), Rep. Michael J. Skindell (D-Lakewood), Rep. Daniel P. Troy (D-Willowick) and Rep. Joe Miller (D-Amherst), called on DeWine to declare a state of emergency for Cuyahoga, Lake and Lorain counties on Thursday. They also requested FEMA Damage Assessment Teams to survey the areas.
“The extensive damage caused by this storm has impacted multiple counties and nearly 500,000 Ohioans, including many elderly and disabled populations,” Skindell said in a news release. “Without immediate assistance from the governor’s office and state agencies, countless residents will continue to be without power or have access to essential services and resources for days to come.”
