Latest hurdle to regaining power is repairing wires, installing new transformers, companies say

As of today, 99 percent of the homes in Riegelsville were still powerless after Superstorm Sandy swept through the area Monday night, according to Met-Ed.

Damage from Superstorm Sandy was so devastating, power companies in Pennsylvania and New Jersey say they are essentially rebuilding electrical-transmission systems.

And that means long waits in pockets of the region, like Riegelsville in Bucks County.

"That's one of the joys and challenges of living here," resident Stephanie Thompson said Friday. "We're not high priority."

Thompson said her utility, Met-Ed, is doing an "incredible job in the area," but she can't help feeling Riegelsville and other smaller municipalities have been overlooked.

As of tonight, Met-Ed said it had restored power to just 2 percent of the 6,125 customers affected by outages in Bucks County. In Northampton County, 60 percent of its 66,423 customers affected had power restored; in Lehigh County, 73 percent of 4,755 customers affected saw power restored.

Jersey Central Power & Light, a sister company of Met-Ed that is also owned by FirstEnergy Corp., reported tonight 36 percent of 61,374 Hunterdon County customers affected had power restored along with 48 percent of 51,603 Warren County customers.

Customers of PPL Electric Utilities are faring comparatively better, though 44,384 of them remained without power tonight in the Lehigh Valley. In Lehigh County, 73 percent of the company's 114,576 customers affected had power restored tonight; in Northampton County, 81 percent of 71,554 customers affected were back up.

Met-Ed spokesman Scott Surgeoner said the largest challenges include replacing or repairing wires and installing new transformers, he said.

"We're essentially rebuilding the electrical system in several days that took us years to build," he said.

Restoration estimates

Met-Ed power is expected to be restored Saturday to 95 percent of its customers affected by Sandy, with the remainder restored by early next week. In and around Easton, the majority should be restored by Monday, with remaining customers restored by Wednesday.

JCP&L spokesman Ron Morano said his company hopes to have power restored for a majority of customers by Wednesday and the "remainder over the next several days after that," he said.

Systemwide in New Jersey, about 470 poles were damaged, 16,000 trees had to be cut and removed and the company replaced 2,400 spans of wire and 200 transformers, he said.

"What we're doing is rebuilding the system," he said. "We had some damage to our transmission system, which is the backbone.

"It's the most significant damage we have ever seen," he said.

PPL is facing problems such as removing trees and rebuilding power lines.

"It's really just the extent of the damage," PPL spokesman Joe Nixon said. "There's a lot of serious damage out there, from broken poles to trees on wires, and a lot of times it takes multiple crews and many hours to complete a single job."

PPL's priority is to take on jobs that will restore power to the most customers, he said.

The company's goal was to have power restored for 80 to 85 percent of customers by 11 tonight and a full restoration by 11 p.m. Sunday, Nixon said.

Long wait a grind

In the Old Orchard section of Palmer Township, Sandra Loquasto was in her fifth day today without power. She said she and her neighbors are frustrated.

"The thing that really annoys me is I don't see anyone working in my area," said Loquasto, a Palmer resident for more than 40 years who lives on Wedgewood Drive. "Nobody's doing a thing here."

Loquasto said she looked into getting a hotel room but they're all booked. She's been sleeping in her upstairs computer room or finished basement -- the two warmest places in her house, she said.

"I just wish somebody would give me a straight answer," she said. "Nobody seems to know what's taking so long or when we're going to get some help."

Regional Editor Kurt Bresswein contributed to this report.