A different way of looking at being powerless
It was miserable. It was cold. It was dark.
In a word, it was the feeling of being “powerless.”
But not in the way we routinely use that word. This was literal. The Great Nor’easter of 2018 took dead aim at Delaware County about mid-day Friday, lashing the region with a wet, heavy snow that at many points during the day was blowing sideways.
The many old, stately trees that dot the Delaware County landscape proved no match for an enraged Mother Nature.
Whipping winds brought down trees all over the county, in the process pulling down power lines and pitching many parts of the county into darkness.
That was Friday. Three days later, lots of people are still in the dark. Traffic signals remain out, including on major thoroughfares such as Baltimore Pike. Getting anywhere by car in Delaware County this weekend was an adventure.
At one point over the weekend, PECO indicated that 630,000 customers were without power across the region. That includes more than 150,000 here in Delaware County.
On Saturday the county issued a disaster declaration and opened up 11 warming centers across the county for residents who had lost power – and in many instances heat – to stop in to get warm, or just charge up their phones.
At one point one of every four people in the county was without power, according to County Council Chairman John McBlain.
On Sunday elected officials and county emergency services crews took a tour of the county, focusing on those most at risk amid the tough circumstances, in particular the elderly.
“Our biggest priority is our most vulnerable,” said state Rep. Jamie Santora, R-163 of Upper Darby. He urged residents to check on their elderly neighbors.
Sunday night officials in the Haverford and Marple Newtown school districts opted to cancel all classes Monday because several buildings remained without power.
By Monday morning, the number of those without power had been knocked down to just a little more than 20,000. None of which will likely make you feel a lot better if you happen to be one of them. Especially since PECO was admitting that some residents might be without power until the middle of the week.
It is a reminder of the fragility of our infrastructure and power grid.
And we’re not out of the woods yet. Forecasters are calling for another Nor’easter taking aim at the region late Tuesday into Wednesday, with another possible big dose of heavy, wet snow, but hopefully without the wind.
As miserable as the conditions were this weekend, it did forces us once again to marvel at the power of Mother Nature, and perhaps take stock of what is truly important in our lives.
It might also prod us to sympathize with the plight of others.
So ask yourself this question: How do you think they feel on the island of Puerto Rico?
Some residents in Delaware County have been without power since Friday and we are beside ourselves, ready to crucify PECO officials and asking our elected leaders why the lights are not back on.
Some parts of Puerto Rico have been without power now since Hurricane Maria slammed into the island as a Category Four storm on Sept. 20. That was five months ago. One hundred days later, half the 1.5 million U.S. citizens on the island still did not have power.
Today, power has been restored to about 87 percent of the island. The goal is to have 95 percent of the lights back on by the end of March.
As part of that effort, more than $200 million worth of materials are expected to finally arrive on the island. That includes more than 7,000 utility poles and nearly 400 miles of conductor wire.
In a way, the situation in Puerto Rico may have aggravated the recovery here. PECO has a lot of its personnel deployed in the Puerto Rico recovery effort. The utility brought in crews from across the United States to assist in getting people back on the grid.
PECO officials said the storm was the third worst on record, affecting 630,000 of the company’s 1.6 million electric customers. It was topped only by the 850,000 who lost power during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and an ice storm in 2014 that left 715,000 in the dark.
“Until we get every last customer on, we’re not done, and we will continue to pull in resources and work around the clock until we get every last customer on,” said Mike Innocenzo, PECO’s chief operating officer.
And don’t look now, but the forecast is calling for another Nor’easter to arrive late Tuesday into Wednesday, again starting as rain and eventually changing over to heavy, wet snow. Accumulations are possible Wednesday.
Don’t put those flashlights away just yet.