‘Please check on your neighbors.’ Hundreds without power in Penns Valley
3 p.m. Friday update: Many customers have had power restored, according to West Penn Power’s website. In Miles Township, 118 customers are still affected, 30 in Liberty Township, 28 in Gregg Township and 72 in Haines Townships.
Hundreds of Penns Valley residents are still without power after a winter storm rolled through Centre County.
According to West Penn Power, Miles Township was most affected by the outage, with 606 customers without power as of 11 a.m. Friday About 100 were affected in Liberty Township and another 112 in Gregg Township. Seventy two customers are without power in Haines Township.
Power for much of the area will be restored by early Friday afternoon, according to Todd Meyers, a spokesman for West Penn Power. The outage was caused by several downed trees damaging four poles and electrical lines, which several linemen are working to repair.
“We’re working as quickly as we can but we’ve got to do it safely to make sure our people stay safe,” Meyers said.
Rebersburg and Madisonburg mountain roads were closed as of Friday morning due to downed wires.
Miles Township Fire Company opened the doors of its station, 102 Broad St., Rebersburg, to those without power, according to a Thursday night Facebook post from the fire company. The Miles Township Social Club is offering free meals from a limited menu through 2 p.m. for those affected by outages.
“In these times we ask that you please check on your neighbors as well,” the fire company wrote.
The outages came after a winter storm that started early Thursday morning brought sleet and snow to the area. The storm caused numerous crashes and reports of downed wires, including in the Millheim Narrows in Penn Township, which was closed Thursday afternoon due to a downed tree and wires.
Meyers warned residents across the county to practice caution when inspecting property damage or downed trees as there could be downed electrical wires. Every electrical wire should be treated as if it is live and all downed wires should be reported to 911.
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 10:41 PM.
