By Tennille Tracy
WASHINGTON--Tens of thousands of people have suffered power
outages as Hurricane Sandy churns up the East Coast and more are
expected as the storm prepares to make landfall early this
evening.
More than 12,000 customers in New York have lost power,
according to the U.S. Energy Department, with thousands more in New
Jersey and Virginia operating without electricity, according to
figures released Monday.
More than 36,000 customers in several East Coast states had lost
power by early Monday, according to the latest figures from the
Energy Department.
A state of emergency has been declared in affected states. The
number of reported power outages at this point represents less than
1% of the customers in affected states.
The ability of power companies to restore electricity in the
days ahead will depend on the severity of winds and flooding
conditions, the Energy Department said.
Baltimore Gas & Electric said it can't do overhead work with
bucket trucks if winds exceed 25 miles per hour.
BG&E said it first tries to reconnect power for hospitals
and 911 call centers before shifting its attention to homeowners
and other customers. It also places a first-step priority on
handling safety issues such as downed power lines.
Orange & Rockland Utilities said "extensive" repair work
could take up to 10 days.
Utility companies are lining up extra workers to help bring
power back online once the storm passes through. Dominion Resources
Inc. (D), which operates in Virginia and North Carolina, said it
had requested additional crews from other states to help restore
power.
Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) said it was making 1,200 workers
available to other utilities to help restore power in Sandy's
aftermath.
Write to Tennille Tracy at tennille.tracy@wsj.com
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