LAKEWOOD, Ohio — As thousands continue to face power outages during dangerously high temperatures, FirstEnergy says the outages are due to equipment failures, and crews are working to restore service.
Since around 7 p.m. Wednesday, sweating has been a common theme on Elmwood Avenue in Lakewood.
As of Thursday at 9:05 p.m., 5,704 FirstEnergy customers were without power.
Brenda Mangini, a senior citizen, says her home feels hotter than 90 degrees. Her floor is covered in water from her melting ice maker, and she’s been taking showers just to stay cool.
“It's horrible. It's just absolutely horrible," Mangini said, adding that there's food in the fridge. "All my food is thawed out.”
She continued, “I’m on social security, so it doesn't help to lose your food.”
Savannah Tate is in the same boat.
“It sucks. We just bought a whole bunch of new groceries and everything, and we're going to have to throw them all away now,” said Tate.
As of Thursday morning, FirstEnergy maps showed thousands of customers without power, with large outages in Lakewood and Olmsted Falls.
“In Olmsted Falls, we're currently installing equipment at a substation that serves the community there,” Brooke Conlan First Energy Spokesperson continued, “Lakewood, we had an equipment issue at a local substation there that caused an outage overnight.”
The company says it is still investigating what caused the equipment failure.
“I’m not sure. Could be heat, could be demand, could be something else within the equipment. I'm not sure. Still investigating the cause,” said Conlan.
While customers were expecting short outages after Cleveland Councilman Charles Slife mentioned new poles could impact service, that wasn’t the case as crews worked to fix the issue.
This comes nearly a week after First Enegry delivered a brand-new transformer apart of a multimillion dollar plan meant to help alleviate the constant outages in the area, though it won’t go into service until September.
The plan also includes a second transformer, new breakers, new smart meters, and tree trimming.
Frustrated with the constant outages and lack of improvement, Lakewood Mayor George expressed in a statement that change is overdue.
"We are demanding immediate, transparent accountability from FirstEnergy leadership, and we ask once again that PUCO uses its regulatory authority to force FirstEnergy into providing the service that we the rate-payers deserve,” the statement read.
“It's frustrating. We understand it, you know, we know it's an inconvenience, and it's not something that we take lightly, especially during this extreme heat. Like I said, our crews are working around the clock,” said Conlan. As for customers, they just want assurance the power will come back and stay on.
“I know they can't help the heat, but they could help be not surprised when something like this happens, so they can take care of it in a timely fashion,” said Mangini.
By 1 p.m., some Lakewood residents had their power restored. FirstEnergy says its goal is to have power restored for everyone by Thursday night.
You can find the Mayor’s full statement below:
Lakewood: we hear you, and we are fed up too.
For years now, we have all suffered FirstEnergy’s failure to keep the power flowing to our homes, especially during our times of greatest need. Instead of fixing the problems with a sense of urgency, FirstEnergy’s apathy and neglect of its infrastructure continues and their power grid fails us at crucial times.
In the midst of the hottest week of the year, thousands of Lakewood homes are left to swelter through dangerously high temperatures in the dark and without any ability to cool their homes.
At this point, we are all frustrated and enraged that the State of Ohio has stripped any power from cities to force utilities to meet their duties to the public. The result is that FirstEnergy has sole control over the power grid throughout the entire city, and the City cannot take any direct action to fix the problems caused by FirstEnergy.
I have personally contacted Governor DeWine’s office today as well as PUCO to once again demand that FirstEnergy be held accountable.
The City of Lakewood has done everything in our power to force FirstEnergy’s hand to date. That includes successfully opposing FirstEnergy’s ridiculous and insulting efforts to lower its performance standards with PUCO.
But we need others to take action.
The weather conditions during these outages are not unpredictable; the wind isn’t blowing, rain isn’t falling, and tree limbs aren’t knocking down any power lines. This is solely the fault of a corrupt corporation that has prioritized profit over the safety and well being of people who rely on it for basic power.
Our residents deserve better than a utility provider that repeatedly ignores its basic duty to its customers. We are demanding immediate, transparent accountability from FirstEnergy leadership, and we ask once again that PUCO uses its regulatory authority to force FirstEnergy into providing the service that we the rate-payers deserve.
In the meantime, the City of Lakewood will continue to apply pressure and do what we can to offer immediate relief to our residents. To that end, Cove Community Center will remain open next week as a public cooling center; our pools are open during daylight to cool off; and our Human Services Department and safety forces will respond to those in need of help.
