PP&L, Inc., line crews are headed to the northern reaches of the company's 29-county service area to restore electric service knocked out by heavy, wet snow that fell Tuesday (2/24).

As of 3 p.m., more than 5,000 customers were without power. The hardest hit areas were around Scranton and Honesdale in northeastern Pennsylvania, and Lock Haven in north central Pennsylvania. As much as a foot of snow has fallen in those areas.

"Our crews are dedicated to restoring power because they understand how difficult it is for families and businesses to be without electric service," said Robert M. Geneczko, vice president of Power Delivery for PP&L.

"In an effort to restore service as quickly as possible, we are moving crews from areas with few power outages to areas where the need for help is greatest," he added.

Line crews from Sunbury and Bloomsburg are providing additional help to PP&L's Lock Haven crews. PP&L expects service to be restored to all customers in the Lock Haven area by late tonight.

PP&L has sent crews from the Lehigh Valley, Harrisburg, Hazleton, the Pocono region and Schuylkill County to help in the Scranton and Honesdale areas. All customers there should be back in service Wednesday morning (2/25).

"We continue to monitor the storm and problems reported by our customers," Geneczko said. "We are prepared to send additional crews from unaffected areas if conditions warrant."

Since Monday night, PP&L crews have restored power to about 13,000 customers across eastern and central Pennsylvania. About 10,000 of those customers are in the northern parts of PP&L's service area.

"Our crews are working in difficult conditions to repair damage to our lines and equipment caused by the storm," Geneczko said. "We appreciate the patience and understanding shown by our customers."

Any PP&L customer whose electric service is interrupted should report the problem by calling toll-free 1-800-342-5775 (1-800 DIAL PPL). Customer calls help PP&L locate the sources of problems more quickly and accurately.

PP&L reminds customers to stay away from downed or low-hanging wires, even if they appear to be "dead." They can report downed wires to PP&L by calling the company's toll-free telephone number.