Severe Storms Leave 620,000 Without Power Across the U.S.

Pennsylvania and Michigan bore the brunt of the destruction, with outage rates hitting 1.7% and 2% respectively. PPL Electric Utilities reported that the weekend weather event ranks among the most damaging in its history, citing 2,360 distinct sites where wires were downed and poles snapped. While crews successfully restored service to 130,000 customers, the utility warned that full repairs require a multi-day effort stretching through Wednesday.

Elsewhere, the recovery pace varies. DTE Energy in Michigan anticipated restoring service to nearly 90% of affected homes by late Sunday. Meanwhile, New York’s Con Edison reported significant progress, having cleared the majority of its 173,700 outages despite dealing with a volatile mix of record-breaking heat and high-velocity wind gusts. These storms arrived on the heels of a massive heat wave that forced PJM Interconnection—the nation’s largest grid operator—to issue a maximum generation alert to meet surging energy demand.