Tens of thousands of Centre County residents are still without power Wednesday after a severe thunderstorm that wreaked havoc throughout the county and state, and although there’s not a clear restoration estimate, it will be a multi-day effort across some impacted parts of Pennsylvania.
More than 30,000 people are without power Wednesday morning, according to West Penn Power’s outage map. Most places on the map do not show an estimated time of restoration. Todd Meyers, spokesperson for FirstEnergy, said the storm — which had winds of up to 70 mph — left “widespread damage,” he said. They’re in the process of assessing damage and hope to determine some estimated time of restoration soon.
“One thing is clear, this will be a multi-day restoration for FirstEnergy throughout much of Western and Central Pennsylvania. Think marathon, not sprint,” Meyers said in an email.
In Centre County, Meyers said West Penn Power had about 35,000 customers impacted by the severe weather. Wednesday morning there were 30,400 customers without power and 1,700 Penelec customers in Centre County were without power.
He said every effort will be made to restore power for customers as quickly as safety permits.
“We have reached out for assistance to help our local West Penn Power and Penelec crews make repairs and restore power to our customers. Crews from other FirstEnergy utilities in eastern Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Jersey are enroute to help, packed to work several days. Additionally, hundreds of contracted line crews are on the way,” Meyers said. They’re also contacting mutual assistance organizations in the northeast and requesting assistance from out-of-state utility crews and contractors.
Customers can report outages by calling 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877), texting OUT to LIGHTS (544487) or clicking the “Outages” link on firstenergycorp.com.
People should assume all downed or low-hanging power lines are energized and dangerous, and stay at least 30 feet away from them. Use extra caution where downed lines are tangled in trees or other debris. Downed lines should be reported immediately by calling 911.
“We recognize electricity is the lifeblood of modern living and commerce and greatly appreciate our customers’ patience as we work round the clock to get their power restored,” Meyers said.
Numerous reports of downed trees and wires have been reported across Centre County, and several roads and schools are closed Wednesday. A 22-year-old man died Tuesday of electrocution in the State College area, when he encountered an active electric current from a utility pole as he was putting out a mulch fire.
This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 10:30 AM.
