Thousands in Valley remain without power; First Energy adds manpower

YOUNGSTOWN

As thousands of Ohio Edison customers in the Mahoning Valley remain without power after Monday’s storm, FirstEnergy has brought in additional personnel to assist Ohio Edison workers.

FirstEnergy spokesman Mark Durbin said the company has brought in additional line workers from the Illuminating Company and Toledo Edison. Contractors also are assisting. In all, approximately 500 people are assisting in FirstEnergy’s response to the widespread outages.

“The whole idea is, it helps us get the outages taken care of more quickly than if we just used Ohio Edison workers,” Durbin said.

Several thousand Mahoning Valley customers remain without power this afternoon. The outages are spread throughout the area, with some in Boardman, Youngstown, Struthers, and other areas.

“We’re going to be working that number down throughout the day,” Durbin said. “Our goal is to have everyone back on by tomorrow evening, but the majority of customers will be back on, probably, by tonight.”

Durbin said customers who will remain without power until Wednesday are concentrated in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

He added that people should be cautious if they see downed wires. To report a hazard, call 1-888-544-4877.

“Steer very clear and give us a call,” Durbin said.