PP&L, Inc. moved quickly to add extra repair crews after heavy, wet snow and winds caused power outages in the Scranton and Pocono Mountain areas.

A total of 26 PP&L line crews were dispatched from Lancaster, Harrisburg and the Lehigh Valley to assist in the repair effort. They joined about 50 repair crews already working in the affected regions to fix downed lines and damaged electrical equipment.

As of 8:30 a.m. Tuesday (12/30), about 16,000 customers were without power. The outages were caused mostly by heavy snow snapping tree limbs and pulling down wires.

"We're working as quickly as we can," said Robert M. Geneczko, vice president of Power Delivery for PP&L. "Our crews are very dedicated to restoring power, because they understand that it can be difficult to be without electricity during a storm."

Geneczko noted that crews worked through the night to restore power to about 13,000 customers by 8:30 a.m., but additional snow and wind caused more outages, particularly in the Scranton, Pocono, Bloomsburg and Williamsport areas.

"We're concerned about the National Weather Service forecast for high winds later today," said Geneczko. "If the winds don't get too damaging, we expect to have power restored to all customers by late tonight."

He asked people to stay clear of downed or low-hanging wires, even if they appear to be "dead." He added that people also should stay away from trees that are in contact with power lines.

Customers without power should call PP&L's toll-free customer service number, 1-800-342-5775 (1-800 DIAL PPL).

PP&L reminds customers participating in Pennsylvania's customer choice pilot program to call 1-800 DIAL PPL for power outages, no matter which company they have selected as an energy supplier.