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Pepco Finishes Off One Storm While Another Looms

By: Matt Bush // August 31, 2011
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Workers at PEPCO's crisis information center monitor the clean-up in Bethesda, Md.
Matt Bush
Workers at PEPCO's crisis information center monitor the clean-up in Bethesda, Md.

Pepco has set a deadline to get service restored to all of its customers following Hurricane Irene.

Thomas Graham, Pepco president, says those still without power won't have to wait much longer.

"We will be done by Thursday at 7 p.m.," Graham says. "All customers will be restored. That's the goal we're shooting for. The vast majority of our customers will be restored before then."

Meanwhile, there is a possibility that the region could soon be going through this all over again. Tropical storm Katia could be declared a hurricane as early as today, as it gathers steam out in the Atlantic Ocean. Graham says they are aware of it.

"Obviously we don't want to see that happen," notes Graham. "This particular storm has impacted about 60 million people. I don't know if this area could handle another event like that. It would be very challenging. We're up to the challenge, but we'd rather not be there."

The National Hurricane Center says it's far to early to predict where Katia could land as the storm is still closer to Africa than the Caribbean, but it will likely be a category 3 storm by the weekend.

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