Nicor outages continue after storms; electricity expected back up

Fallout from tumultuous storms and a tornado continued Tuesday for households without electricity or gas service in the Naperville and Woodridge area.

More than 170 Nicor Gas customers in Naperville, Woodridge and Darien were still without service as of Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

However, ComEd expected to restore power to its remaining customers waiting for electricity by 11 p.m. Tuesday.

"Nicor Gas continues to coordinate efforts with first responders to reach areas affected by the severe weather and restore gas service as soon as safely possible," spokeswoman Jennifer Golz said. "We continue to work around the clock to ensure the safety of our customers and communities."

She noted that Nicor is headquartered in Naperville and "these storms have affected our neighbors, our families and friends."

ComEd customers without power had decreased to about 700, mostly in Woodridge, as of Tuesday afternoon from an original 5,600 impacted by the extreme weather, spokesman Tom Dominguez explained. "We've moved crews into DuPage so we can concentrate on the areas that are still out," he said.

One major culprit was downed wires, which are relatively easy to fix - unless there's a fallen tree and debris involved, Dominguez explained.

That means "there's things we have to take care of first before we can get to the wires," he said.

In Naperville, the city operates the electrical service, and as of 6 p.m. Monday all customers had power, Director of Communications Linda LaCloche said.

"There is still work to be done out there so we are out today and will need to take power up and down to continue our repairs," she noted. About 450 Naperville customers had lost power.

Nicor representatives will be available through 8 p.m. Tuesday and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday to provide information and supplies, such as water and safety glasses, for families at a Red Cross shelter at Thomas Jefferson Junior High School, 7200 Janes Ave. in Woodridge.