Utilities scramble to restore power in US

A heavy coating of ice took down trees and limbs in the mid-Atlantic, causing a power failure

Hundreds of thousands of Americans spent a second chilly day without electricity as utility crews from as far away as Canada and Arkansas scrambled to restore power lost when a heavy coating of ice took down trees and limbs in the mid-Atlantic.

State officials yesterday likened the scope of the damage to a hurricane. Some who might not get power back for several days sought warmth or at least somewhere to recharge their batteries in shopping malls, public libraries and hastily established shelters.

Nearly a half-million customers were without electricity yesterday, the vast majority of them in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said after an aerial survey of the storm's aftermath that crews put a priority on restoring electricity to hospitals and nursing homes, and to communications facilities and sewer plants.

"This storm is in some respects as bad or maybe even worse than Hurricane Sandy," he said during an appearance in the Philadelphia suburbs. He said a shipment of electrical generators from the federal government was on its way to Pennsylvania.

PECO, the dominant electricity provider in the Philadelphia area, had the most outages with 395,000. PECO spokeswoman Debra Yemenijian most would have their lights back on by today night, but she said some could be without power until Sunday.

About 200 people took advantage of seven shelters in three suburban Philadelphia counties, according to the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Shelters also were open in central Pennsylvania.

The US Northeast's second winter storm of the week dumped more than a foot (30 centimeters) of snow in some places on Wednesday, forcing schools, businesses and government offices to close, snarling air travel and sending cars and trucks sliding on slippery roads and highways an all-too-familiar litany of misery in a winter where the storms seem to be tripping over each other.

What made this one stand out was the thick coating of ice it left on trees and power lines.

"Many of them already had a coating of snow on them," said Mark Durbin, a spokesman for the utility FirstEnergy. "It's that weight that crushes our equipment. Multiply that by hundreds of locations.