ComEd Prepares for New Round of Severe Weather in Northern Illinois

With weather forecasts showing a possibility of severe thunderstorms in northern Illinois Friday evening and early Saturday morning, ComEd is proactively opening its Emergency Operations Center, as well as getting equipment and additional crews in place to quickly and safely restore power to any impacted customers. The current forecast calls for thunderstorms with wind gusts in excess of 60 MPH.

"We've already responded to multiple rounds of severe weather this spring, restoring 99% of customers within 48 hours each time, and we're ready for today's storms. We're taking proactive steps to assess conditions and stage crews so we can restore power as quickly and safely as possible if outages occur. If you do lose power, please know our teams will work around the clock to get you back up and running," said David Perez, executive vice president and COO of ComEd.

ComEd has been investing in power grid upgrades and tree trimming to minimize the impact of storms. Since ComEd started implementing smart grid improvements in 2012, it has improved overall reliability by over 75%, helping customers avoid more than 27 million customer interruptions and saving more than $5 billion in outage-related costs. In 2025, ComEd was named the most reliable utility in the U.S.

When responding to power outages caused by storms, ComEd's priority is to restore critical facilities such as police and fire stations, nursing homes and hospitals first, followed by repairs that will restore power to the greatest number of customers. Depending on the severity of the storm, ComEd may open its emergency operations center, and will assign additional crews as needed to respond to impacted communities.

Public safety is paramount, and ComEd encourages customers to take the following precautions:

• If a downed power line is spotted, immediately call ComEd at 1-800-EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661). Spanish-speaking customers should call 1-800-95-LUCES (1-800-955-8237).
• Never approach a downed power line. Always assume a power line is energized and extremely dangerous.
• In the event of an outage, do not approach ComEd crews working to restore power to ask about restoration times. Crews may be working on live electrical equipment, and the perimeter of the work zone may be hazardous.

ComEd urges customers to contact the company immediately if they experience a power outage. Customers can text OUT to 26633 (COMED) to report an outage and receive restoration information and can follow the company on X @ComEd or on Facebook at Facebook.com/ComEd. Customers can also call 1-800 EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661), or report outages via the website at ComEd.com/report. Spanish-speaking customers should call 1-800-95-LUCES (1-800-955-8237).

With ComEd's new Outage Tracker, customers can report outages, check estimated time of restoration, view crew status updates, and explore our outage map. Visit ComEd.com/OutageTracker.

ComEd's mobile app for iPhone and Android® smart phones gives customers the ability to report power outages and manage their accounts; download the app at ComEd.com/app.