BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Wind gusts up to 45 mph were keeping utility company crews busy Sunday – and leaving thousands of customers in Lehigh and Northampton counties without power.
By late afternoon, PPL Electric Utilities was reporting about 5,600 customers without power in Lehigh County and nearly 3,500 in Northampton County.
Met-Ed, which serves the Easton area and Slate Belt, reported more than 3,700 of its energy consumers without power.
Trouble spots in Lehigh County included Lower Macungie Township, with 3,300 outages, and Washington Township, with 1,700. Another 900 of PPL's customers in Bethlehem and 350 in Lower Saucon Township also were in the dark.
Met-Ed crews were focusing their attention on Bath and Moore Township, where about 1,300 customers were affected. Another 1,500 or so were out in Upper Mount Bethel Township and Portand.
Heavy winds are passing through our territory pulling down poles and wires and causing power outages. If you come across a downed wire, assume it's energized and stay away. ⚠️ Check the status of outages at https://t.co/36rGLEa1kT. pic.twitter.com/JmLbIFdiSj
— PPL Electric Utilities (@PPLElectric) January 14, 2024
PPL blamed the problems on high winds that brought down poles and wires. The utility warned folks to report and stay away from fallen wires.
“If you come across a downed wire, assume it’s energized and stay away,” the company said on X, formerly Twitter.
Report outages to PPL at pplelectric.com/outage or by texting OUTAGE to TXTPPL (898775).
Met-Ed said at its peak, it had about 14,000 across its service area without power. PPL, which serves about 1.5 million customers in 29 counties, said its crews had restored power to more than 51,000 customers since Friday.
The National Weather Service says wind gusts of up to 45 mph will settle down later Sunday, with overnight conditions of 5 to 15 mph. The threat for snow squalls has ended, according to the weather service.
