About 2,000 Delmarva Power customers had their power restored overnight as 887 line workers worked to aid remaining customers without electricity.
That still leaves about 5,000 customers in northern Delaware without electricity after an early Friday night storm swept through the area.
The Delaware Department of Transportation reported numerous road closures and a dozen and half traffic signals running on emergency power in Greenville and other areas.
Power was out in commercial areas of Greenville and the Wilmington and Western Railroad reported trees down and possible washouts.
Assessments found heavy tree damage and flooding that caused significant damage to the local energy grid in New Castle County and the surrounding area. Widespread damage from toppled trees and wind was reported across a wide area.
Based on current damage assessments, Delmarva Power expects to restore service for all customers by 11 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10.
However, most customers should have their service restored before that time. Following
Working to restore power are 887 lineworkers and support personnel, along with additional back-office staff.
Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki spent Saturday morning surveying damage in various parts of the city.
The mayor reported that Delmarva is working to restore power to residents in a number of neighborhoods. Haynes Park, off Miller Road near the Home Depot, was one of the hardest-hit areas with many trees knocked down and damaged. The park is closed and residents are asked not to get near the park to survey the damage.
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While the damage was mainly in New Castle County, the utility believes that in at least several areas the damage is so severe that entire sections of line will need to be completely rebuilt before service can be restored.
“The work will continue to be extremely labor-intensive and very time consuming, as a multitude of fallen trees must be removed before repairs can be completed,” a release stated. “We understand that these outages are disruptive and are frustrating for customers who may have experienced multiple outages this week.”
The latest damage comes on the heels of a power restoration effort in portions of Maryland as well as northern and central Delaware as Tropical Storm Isaias swept through the region on Tuesday and spawned at least two tornadoes. Delmarva disclosed that 1,200 workers were involved in the restoration effort
Some areas affected by the latest outage also lost the power for a time from Isaias.
