PPL says power is over 90% restored after "one of the most impactful storm events" in company's history

Pennsylvania's PPL Electric called the rounds of severe weather over the Fourth of July weekend "one of the most impactful storm events" in the company's history. And the restoration effort required the largest working crew since the devastating Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The company said in a news release Tuesday that more than 264,000 customers experienced power outages during the storms. As of Tuesday morning, over 245,000 customers' power has been restored. 

By 11 p.m. Tuesday, at least 95% of the impacted customers should have their power restored, and power should be restored to nearly everyone by 11 p.m. Wednesday.

"This is the largest restoration workforce PPL Electric has assembled since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, reflecting both the scale of the storm damage and the company's commitment to restoring service as safely and quickly as possible," the company said in a statement.

The remaining repairs require addressing broken poles and extensive damage to trees and electrical equipment across the service region.

Rounds of storms from Friday, July 3, through the Independence Day holiday weekend knocked out power and toppled trees. In Alburtis, Lehigh County, downed trees hit homes, damaged parked cars and blocked roads.

The repairs left to complete this week are complex, PPL said.

"Many repairs require multiple work groups operating in sequence, including forestry personnel, damage assessors, line workers and other support teams. These repairs are labor-intensive and time-consuming but are necessary to safely rebuild damaged sections of the electric system," PPL's statement added.

With some of the outages coinciding with extreme heat, the electric company is providing customers a bill credit for up to three gallons of water and three 10-pound bags of ice per day during the outage event.

The company says customers seeking reimbursement should mail copies of itemized receipts, along with their account number, to this address:

• PPL Ice and Water Program, 827 Hausman Road, Allentown, PA 18104

PPL's service area includes areas in Berks, Bucks, Chester, Lehigh and Northampton counties.