FirstEnergy sent out an email to customers Saturday in preparation for possible outages ahead of a winter storm expected to pass through the entire state.
Parma Police published the email on Facebook, where FirstEnergy said the "cold snap is expected to affect our entire service area."
“I prefer a warning over nothing at all,” said Garret Pyatt.
Ahead of Sunday’s snowfall, shoppers like Pyatt stocked up.
“We’re buying food for the next two days and probably won’t leave,” said Pyatt.
While Pyatt believes he should have enough to eat, he said he’s not prepared for the possibility of his power going out.
“I guess I’ve done little to no preparation for if my power went out,” said Pyatt.
In a statement on Friday, the company said crews have prepared for the weather and that, as many areas expect snow, they are prepping for extra challenges that heavy snowfall could create for equipment and travel.
“We encourage customers to have extra batteries on hand, to charge phones ahead of time. Have flashlights. When an outage happens, don’t assume that your neighbor reported the outage. If you report it, it gets into our system, and we can then prioritize and respond to outages more quickly,” said FirstEnergy Spokesperson Jennifer Young.
At this time, Young said there’s not a specific area where they expect potential outages to happen since the forecast calls for lots of snow.
“It is expected to be light and fluffy, which typically doesn’t cause the same type of problems to the electric system. If we had areas, that had heavy wet snow, and a lot of icing that’s where we would be the most concerned with seeing power outages,” said Young.
Still, some Lakewood residents, who did not want to go on camera, said they’re skeptical of FirstEnergy due to continuous problems Councilman Tom Bullock said they have experienced.
“A lot of city officials have (taken) a lot of phone calls about lost food from freezers melting or refrigerators losing their power or health problems from people not being able to be safe in their homes when they have oxygen or other medical equipment, we’re kind of on pins and needles,” said Bullock.
Bullock told News 5 he did receive the warning and appreciates the heads up. But he said more is still needed.
“This is something that’s not an option. It’s not a luxury to have power. It’s essential,” said Bullock.
If there are power outages, Young said FirstEnergy is committed to restoring people’s power in a timely fashion.
But she said travel may be difficult for crews, so she asks people to be patient.
“We’re engaged, prepared and ready,” said Young.
You can find more tips on safety and staying warm below:
