ComEd defends response to storm

ComEd officials said they did the best they could to restore power after the Aug. 23 and 24 storm cut power to about 630,000 of their customers.

Some residents and public officials said it wasn't good enough at a forum on Tuesday hosted by State Sen. Susan Garrett, a Lake Forest Democrat. More than 100 residents and public officials attended the event at the Des Plaines Public Library.

According to Garrett, many residents were upset because ComEd officials told them their power would be restored in a few hours when really it took days.

"There was just a lot of miscommunication," Garrett said. "Other people had their power back and then it would go out again. It was very frustrating."

Fidel Marquez, ComEd vice president of external affairs, said his company did the best they could and that the storm was the worst he's seen since a 1998 ice storm.

"There were priorities," Marquez said. "First, we worry about the hospitals and then the fire and police. Next we look at senior citizen facilities and then move to the larger pockets of people without power and then the smaller pockets."

The storms -- which were accompanied by winds of up to 80 mph -- dumped about 3 inches of rain on the region in just a few hours. More than 5,000 trees were knocked down and ComEd had to replace 400 electrical poles.

Of those who lost power, 90 percent had electricity restored within 48 hours. To speed up repair times, ComEd flew in help from as far away as Texas and Philadelphia on Saturday.

"We had crews working 16-hour shifts around the clock," Marquez said.

However, some ComEd customers were without power for four or five days, Marquez said.

The residents at Tuesday's forum weren't the only ones concerned with ComEd's response.

Two north suburban residents have filed a class-action lawsuit against ComEd, claiming the utility botched its role in the recent power outages.

The lawsuit, filed last week in Cook County, blames the company for failing to maintain its facilities and not having an adequate response plan in place. It also accuses ComEd of failing to adequately warn customers of its shortcomings prior to the power outages.

"ComEd knew or should have known the outages posed a risk of impending harm to the plaintiffs and their property … in that the customers are likely to suffer property damages, financial damages, adverse health consequences and other damages," the lawsuit states.