CLEVELAND — Some on social media have been speculating that FirstEnergy sent crews down south to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Debby, hampering recovery efforts in Northeast Ohio. FirstEnergy says that is not the case.
When News 5's Catherine Ross asked about this on Thursday, a FirstEnergy spokesperson said the company had been keeping an eye on the weather and decided not to send any of its own crews to the Carolinas.
Officials said contractors the company works with did head south, and some of those companies are now thinly staffed locally.
FirstEnergy’s Ohio President, Torrence Hinton, reiterated what the spokesperson told our reporter during a press conference on Friday morning.
Power companies have been working around the clock since Tuesday evening to clean up fallen wires and restore electricity to more than 400,000 customers in Northeast Ohio.
RELATED: Thousands of crews working to restore power after Tuesday's storm, FirstEnergy says
