Power restoration from Oregon storm could take a week more

By Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. Feb. 21, 2021 7:24 p.m. Updated: Feb. 21, 2021 10:04 p.m.

It could take up to another week to restore power to all the remaining customers in the wake of an ice storm that wreaked havoc on the electrical grid in greater Portland, Oregon, beginning more than a week ago, a utility official said.

Almost 39,000 customers remained without power on Sunday after Portland General Electric said it had restored power to more than 14,000 customers on Saturday. The utility said more than 400 crews were at work trying to restore power to remaining homes and businesses.

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The worst ice storm in 40 years knocked out power to more than 350,000 residents at its peak and killed five people, including four who died from carbon monoxide poisoning as they tried to stay warm.

It could take as long as seven days to fully restore power, said Portland General Electric spokeswoman Elizabeth Lattanner. Some customers have experienced multiple outages, she said.

The damage and dangerous conditions left behind by the storm that started Feb. 12 were the worst in the utility's history, according to officials.

“We would restore power in one area, move on to the next and then have to go back to that area because additional trees fell or something similar," Lattanner said.

One-quarter of customers lost power multiple times over the course of the three-day storm as ice-laden trees fell on lines. A layer of ice an inch thick coated power lines and trees, adding 1,000 pounds of extra weight to each span of wire from pole to pole, PGE said.

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