Philadelphia Power Outages Hit 660,000 Homes and Businesses

More than 600,000 homes in the Philadelphia region were left without power, after a heavy snowstorm and freezing rain bowled over trees and snarled traffic.

About 660,000 homes and businesses experienced power outages, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. PECO energy company reported around 300,000 outages on Tuesday morning, after power lines and wires fell at the feet of the severe weather. In the span of four hours, the number of affected customers doubled.

At least 3,000 employees were sent to help clients, clear fallen tree branches and upright power lines.

The company has requested all citizens steer clear of downed power lines and report any electrical fires to law enforcement officials.

According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, PECO and PPL Electric customers were hit hardest by the weather-induced outages.

NBC10 reported 184,042 customers were affected in Chester County, while 188,108 in Montgomery County had no power. A whopping 146,099 residents of Bucks County experienced outages, in addition to 73,146 in Delaware County and 33,004 in Philadelphia County.