Find the latest information on the power outage and resources here.
About 350,000 homes in Northeast Ohio were without power this morning after storms and high winds yesterday. Clevelanders from Collinwood to Mill Creek to Ohio City were dealing with lost power, including more than 8,000 Cleveland Public Power customers and more than 335,000 FirstEnergy customers across Greater Cleveland, according to outage maps.
Many people were without Wi-Fi even if they did have power. Phoenix Coffee, on Bridge Avenue in Ohio City, was packed.
“This is very atypical business on a Wednesday,” said Barista Ang Patterson. “We had a line to the back of the room for three hours straight. People are fighting for seats and outlets.”
Phoenix on Bridge reported meeting it’s daily sales goal within six hours.
Marketing and communications professional Emily Bandy spent the morning working from there after losing internet service.
“I work from home fully remote, so this totally messed up my routine,” she said.
Check the FirstEnergy outage map and the Cleveland Public Power outage map for details on outages near you.
Even if you see outages in your area on the map already, FirstEnergy encourages you to report your own power outage. That helps crews gather more details.
Here are some ways you can report an outage:
- Contact FirstEnergy online here or Cleveland Public Power online here.
- If you’re a FirstEnergy customer, you can also:
- Text OUT to 544487 (LIGHTS).
- If you’re not already enrolled in text messaging, text REG to 544487 to start.
- To report an outage by phone, call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877).
- You can also report an outage using the TTY/TDD relay service.
- Text OUT to 544487 (LIGHTS).
Getting power restored can be a waiting game
Restoring power can take time, FirstEnergy said, anticipating “a multi-day restoration effort for many.” First their crews identify safety issues, including downed power lines, then they prioritize restoring power for emergency services such as police and fire departments and hospitals. And then repairs are made to get power restored to the largest number of people.
On social media, FirstEnergy reminded people to “assume any downed or low-hanging wire is energized and dangerous. Stay 30+ feet away and report it ASAP to 911.”