PPL Utilities crews have been working since before dawn today (12/12) to restore electric service to more than 80,000 customers left without power by a wind storm that blew across the company’s service area in eastern and central Pennsylvania.

Since 6 a.m., PPL crews have restored service to 39,000 customers who lost power because of the strong wind, which gusted up to 60 miles per hour in some areas. The wind brought tree limbs and branches down across PPL power lines.

As of 11 a.m., about 42,000 customers are without power. Damage is spread across PPL’s service area. The hardest hit locations are the Poconos, the Allentown-Bethlehem area, the Scranton area, and the Bloomsburg and Sunbury areas in the Susquehanna Valley.

"We have employees out assessing damage and crews working to restore service to all customers as quickly as possible. We will continue our efforts until every customer is back in service," said John Yanek, manager of Mobile Work Force Operations for PPL Utilities.

Yanek added that PPL is supplementing its crews with local electrical contractors and has requested assistance from neighboring utilities, and is waiting for a response from those companies. Other utilities in the Mid-Atlantic region are dealing with similar damage and large numbers of customers out of service because of the storm.

Currently, PPL estimates that service should be restored to all customers Wednesday night (12/13).

PPL will be calling customers who are expected to be without power for at least 24 hours to determine if they have any special needs.

Customers who are without power should call PPL toll free at 1-800-342-5775 (1-800 DIAL PPL) to report the outage.

Also, customers should call PPL to report any wires on the ground or hanging low near the ground because of the high winds. Fallen wires may be dangerous, even if they don’t appear to be "live." To be safe, stay at least 12 feet from any wire on the ground.