LAKEWOOD, Ohio — On top of the extreme heat, the biggest concern this week has been the lack of power. All week long, we’ve been speaking with business owners, homeowners and residents trying to manage through these dangerous temperatures without electricity.
For the past three days, many people have been stuck in a frustrating cycle — losing power, getting it back, and then losing it again.
RELATED: Equipment failure leaves thousands without power during heat wave in NEO
On Friday, a photo posted to social media showed a utility pole on fire, which FirstEnergy says caused at least 217 additional customers to lose electricity.
And while we sat down with Lakewood Mayor Meghan George, we watched the number of affected customers jump from 2,000 to 8,000.
“The heat we are experiencing is truly life or death levels of heat. There are people that are homebound, there are people with young children, there are seniors that cannot escape this heat, and it's dangerous,” said George.
Lakewood has been dealing with power reliability issues for nearly two years. George has pushed back against FirstEnergy’s efforts to loosen reliability standards required under state regulations. She has also called on PUCO to investigate and recently reached out to Gov. Mike DeWine.
RELATED: Lakewood residents want to know why their power keeps going out
“I will continue to push. We've intervened in cases with reliability standards. We're pulling every lever that we can as a city, but at the end of the day, I don't own the lines, I don't own the substations, and I can't get my crews out there to fix it,” said George.
We reached out to FirstEnergy again Friday afterthe company said Thursday they expected to have power restored by the evening. The company blames the extreme heat for the outages and says crews are working around the clock to make repairs.
“We share our customers’ expectation for reliable electric service. That’s why we are investing millions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades and other reliability improvements designed to strengthen the electric system serving Lakewood and surrounding communities,” the statement read.
We asked the mayor whether those improvements are making a difference.
“If you look around today, it doesn't appear so. Thousands of people are without power, days on end; whatever investments they're doing, they're not enough,” said George.
You can find FirstEnergy’s full statement below:
We understand the frustration and hardship these outages have caused for Lakewood residents, especially during this period of extreme heat. Losing power in these conditions is difficult, and we recognize the impact it has on families, businesses and vulnerable members of the community. The recent heat wave created extraordinary conditions across our region, driving significant electricity demand and placing strain on electric infrastructure. Our crews, engineers and system operators have been working around the clock to restore service safely and as quickly as possible for affected customers. We share our customers’ expectation for reliable electric service. That’s why we are investing millions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades and other reliability improvements designed to strengthen the electric system serving Lakewood and surrounding communities. While no electric system is immune to extreme weather, these investments are helping build a stronger and more resilient grid for our customers.
We appreciate Mayor George’s advocacy for residents and remain committed to working with local leaders as we continue making investments that will create a stronger, more resilient electric system. As the extreme heat continues, we encourage customers who have power to conserve electricity when possible to help reduce strain on the system. We also encourage residents in need of relief from the heat to take advantage of available cooling centers and community resources. In addition, free water is available for customers beginning today at 4 p.m. until Sunday evening, or while supplies last, at the following Giant Eagles:
- 14100 Detroit Ave. Lakewood, OH 44107
- 3050 W 117thCleveland, OH 44111
- 22160 Center Ridge Rd.Rocky River, OH 44116
Nadeen Abusada is a Cuyahoga County and immigration reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Instagram NadeenAbusada or email her at Nadeen.Abusada@wews.com.
