No Electricity for 200 Customers; Are You Surviving Being Powerless?

More than 24 hours after a severe thunderstorm system tore through the south suburbs, about 200 Tinley Park ComEd customers are still without power. 

As of early Wednesday morning, most of the affected customers were located in the Fairmont Village subdivision near the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center; the neighborhood by Memorial Park; along Oak Forest Avenue, near the Edgewater subdivision; and the neighborhoods around Harlem Avenue and 177th Street, according to ComEd's online power outage map. (The areas marked in red on the map show where the areas with most affected customers in Oak Forest and Tinley Park.)

According to ComEd's Twitter feed, power has been restored to 95 percent of the utility's coverage area as of 4 a.m.

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High winds from Monday's storm were the major cause of the power outages, which have left around 63,000 ComEd customers without power throughout the state as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Ashley Dennison, a spokeswoman for the utility. In some areas, gusts reached as high as 75 mph, she added.

ComEd had as many as 535 workers in crews throughout its service area Tuesday afternoon and evening, Dennison said. The additional crews were deployed to continue taking care of Monday's storm damage, as well as prepare for the possibility of more bad weather Tuesday, which could have led to additional outages, she said. 

Although Dennison said she couldn't confirm when all power would be restored, ComEd's outage map estimated that areas in Tinley Park could have their electricity back anytime between noon Wednesday, June 26, and 11 p.m. Thursday, June 27.

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While the power outage had some residents creating a memorable Chicago Blackhawks experience with their neighbors, others have seen this time without electricity take its toll. A commenter who lives near 151st Street and Menard Avenue—part of the area in Oak Forest that has been continuously without power since the storm hit—said she had to throw out her refrigerated food because it went bad.

YOUR TURN: Have you been without power for long stretches since Monday? How have you coped? Did you check in to a nearby hotel? Or did you tough it out? How did you stay cool? And what about your food? Tell us how you've survived these power outages and pass along tips to other residents in similar situations in the comments section.