Some Peco customers without power in Kensington as temperatures remain below freezing
The outage began Tuesday night in Kensington after down wires were found near Rorer and East Westmoreland Streets.
Over a hundred Kensington residents remained without power Wednesday as a Peco outage left many scrambling for heat during yet another day of below-freezing temperatures.
The electricity supplier was notified around 7 p.m. Tuesday that power lines were down in the area, said spokesperson Tom Brubaker. Peco has yet to identify a cause, Brubaker said. Fire crews responded to a call about downed wires at Rorer and East Westmoreland Streets at 7:20 p.m. Tuesday, according to a Philadelphia Fire Department spokesperson.
About 3,000 customers were affected when electricity first went out, but that number had ticked down to 134 as of Wednesday afternoon, according to PECO’s live outage tracker, as crews started work overnight to begin restoring power.
PECO expects to have all power fully restored by late Wednesday afternoon, Brubaker said.
“There’s a not a single fix,” Brubaker said, noting that technicians have to work on each outage site individually, which can cause delays. “All available crews are on the scene working as quickly and safely as possible to restore power.”
» READ MORE: Snow coated Philly’s Monday morning commute, followed by a prolonged cold spell
The outages come as Philadelphia heads into what some meteorologists predict will be a two-week-long cold spell. Following Monday’s snow, temperatures are expected to stay below freezing until at least Friday, with lows reaching the teens. Brubaker urged Peco customers without heat to consider finding warm shelter elsewhere until the power comes back.
The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Homeless Services issued an indefinite Code Blue, invoking additional city resources during times of severe winter weather. The city is operating 20 warming centers — including a 24/7 location at Kensington’s Inn of Amazing Mercy at 115 E. Huntingdon St. — where anyone is welcome to walk in at any time.
The rest of the warming centers can be found on this digital map.