ComEd outlines storm restoration lessons, local reliability upgrades for Indian Head Park

Greg Castellanos of Commonwealth Edison told the Board that the July 27 storm was among the most significant weather events this year and produced outages for roughly 500,000 customers across ComEd’s service territory. "The July 27 storm was 1 of the most significant weather events to impact Northern Illinois this year alone," Castellanos said, noting hurricane‑force winds, widespread tree damage and seven confirmed tornadoes.

Castellanos described ComEd’s restoration priorities—first responding to life‑threatening downed live wires and critical public facilities, then high‑voltage feeders and high‑density housing—and outlined reliability programs being implemented in Indian Head Park, including distribution automation (smart nodes that isolate problem spans), pole inspections and targeted tree trimming. He said ComEd mobilized more than 3,400 field employees and mutual‑aid crews, including teams from other states and Canada, and reached an 80% restoration milestone earlier than expected.

Board members and residents asked about customer‑facing outage information and reports of trucks being shown on the outage map when crews were not visibly on site. Castellanos explained ComEd’s systems update on 15–30 minute intervals and that some initial crew visits are diagnostic before equipment and materials are staged, saying, "Some folks might just see a brownout or a momentarian. They can always call into our 1‑800 ComEd number..." He also noted a claims process for customers who report appliance or electronics damage and agreed to share claims and contact links with the village.

The presentation concluded with the company describing specific local reliability work: distribution automation already completed on one circuit, wood pole inspections and corrective maintenance, and roughly 9 miles of tree trimming completed in 2025 with one more circuit scheduled for 2026. Castellanos said ComEd is exploring technology improvements for real‑time municipal visibility into crews and outage ETRs.