PP&L, Inc. crews will continue working throughout the night to restore service to customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania left without power by strong, gusty winds that blew through the region Tuesday (11/2).

As of 9 p.m., about 40,000 PP&L customers were without power, most in the eastern portions of the company's 29-county service area including the Lehigh Valley, the Poconos, and Carbon and Luzerne counties.

"Most the power outages have been reported to us within the last four hours," said Robert M. Geneczko, vice president-Power Delivery for PP&L. "In anticipation of the storm, we kept crews on duty beyond their normal working hours and arranged for additional staffing of our call center."

Geneczko said PP&L crews will work through the night in an effort to restore service to customers as quickly as possible. Already, crews have restored service to more than 16,000 PP&L customers since this afternoon.

He added that PP&L has contacted local contractors and electric companies in Pennsylvania and neighboring states about their ability to provide help should conditions worsen overnight.

The strong winds accompanying Tuesday's storm caused tree limbs and branches to fall on PP&L wires. Because of the extent of the damage, PP&L estimates that it will be late Wednesday (11/3) before all customers have their electric service restored.

PP&L customers without power should call the company's toll-free customer service phone number, 1-800-342-5775 (1-800 DIAL PPL) to report the outage. Information from customers helps PP&L pinpoint the source of problems and speeds the restoration effort.

Strong winds have knocked power lines to the ground in some areas. Anyone who sees a wire on the ground should report it immediately to PP&L and stay at least 12 feet away for safety.