Met-Ed Bills Not Lower Despite Hurricane Sandy Outage

Met-Ed customers may be wondering why their electric bill isn't lower if they were out of power during Hurricane Sandy.

You may have gotten the most recent electric bill in the mail, or maybe the bill is on its way. You may be thinking that the bill will be lower than usual because you were out of power due to Hurricane Sandy. If you’re a customer of Met-Ed, think again – at least for the latest bill. If you’re a customer of PPL, the bill very well may be lower. Why the difference? Met-Ed uses meter readers to measure customer usage. PPL uses advanced meters that don’t require people to read them. Met-Ed needed its meter readers to help in the process of restoring power to thousands of customers in the Lehigh Valley and elsewhere in Sandy’s aftermath. So Met-Ed had to base your bill on an estimate of power usage, not the more precise measure of usage …

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Four Days Post-Sandy, Side Street Still a Mess

Much of the nearby borough of Fountain Hill and surrounding South Bethlehem neighborhoods remain without power in the wake of high winds that brought down utility poles and trees Monday night.

Tiny Uncas Street lies near the border between Bethlehem and Fountain Hill. A leafy lane lined with attractive townhomes, the thoroughfare that is far from isolated currently looks more like a war zone than a residential side street, with a massive fallen tree blocking one end of it near Delaware Avenue. Four days after Superstorm Sandy struck the region, Uncas Street remains closed to traffic, with nary a PPL truck or worker in sight late Friday morning. Meanwhile, power is still out to the surrounding neighborhood, and much of the Borough of Fountain Hill. PPL crews have already restored power to St. Luke's University Hospital. Just a few blocks away, utility lines, pieces of pole and metal transformer parts litter the one block of Uncas…

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Power Restored to Downtown High Rise Office Tower

One Bethlehem Plaza and 485 residential customers lost electricity at about 10 a.m., but the lights were back on less than 90 minutes later.

  The high-rise office building at 1 W. Broad St. and the neighborhood around it lost electricity for a little less than an hour-and-a-half this morning because a tree limb had fallen on a power line, a PPL spokesman said. Electricity to the neighborhood was lost at about 10 a.m. this morning. A Breaking News Network alert said Bethlehem police were setting up traffic control at key intersections around Linden Street and E. Market Street. Meanwhile, a Patch Twitter follower reported that power had gone out at One Bethlehem Plaza – the 11-story office building at W. Broad and New streets. The tweeter also told Patch that there was no water service to the 10th floor of the building where she works. At the time, PPL Electric Utilities was …

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5 Things to Know Today

Learn to cook vegan with the Save the Kales blogger at Stacks in the City.

Good morning Bethlehem. Today is Wednesday, August 31, 2011. Happy birthday Van Morrison, the king of Celtic Soul. Van the Man turns 66 today.

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5 Things to Know Today

900 remain without electricity, but school is back in session.

Good morning, Bethlehem. Today is Tuesday, August 30, 2011.

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Hurricane Irene

Many Still Without Electricity

PPL had problems with its call in system, plus tips for staying safe while the lights are out.

On it’s home page, PPL Electric Utilities says that it had technical difficulties with its power outage reporting systems beginning Sunday, which may have prevented some customers from reporting their loss of electricity. If you do have an outage that has not been reported, PPL asks that you report outages online or by calling 1-800-DIAL-PPL (1-800-342-5775). “Calls from customers help us determine the scope of outages and better direct crews to where the problems exist,” the Web site says. The utility company asks those who have already reported the electricity loss not call again for an update to keep the lines clear for customers who have not been able to get through. The power company is currently reporting that more than 20,000 …

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