Severe thunderstorms that swept through the Lehigh Valley and surrounding region on July 3 and 4 triggered one of the most damaging outage events in PPL Electric Utilities’ history, knocking out power to nearly 200,000 customers and forcing the utility to call in crews from as far away as Canada to speed the recovery effort.
The Scale of the Storm
PPL Electric confirmed that roughly 199,000 customers experienced outages from the start of the storm event, placing it among the 10 most impactful outages in the company’s history. Heavy rain, powerful winds, and downed trees caused extensive damage across PPL’s 29-county service territory. The storms, which began Friday evening, extended through the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
By Monday, July 6, crews had restored power to more than 196,000 of those affected. Approximately 60,000 customers remained without service, many in locations where the damage is the most complex to repair.
A Massive Restoration Effort
PPL deployed more than 2,000 personnel for the restoration effort, including lineworkers, foresters, damage assessors, and support staff. The utility activated storm response plans and called in mutual-aid crews from Canada, Rhode Island Energy, and LG&E and KU to supplement its own workforce around the clock.
The remaining outages are the hardest to address: in many locations, crews must first clear fallen trees before they can assess the full scope of damage, then replace broken utility poles and rebuild downed sections of wire, a multi-step process that takes considerably longer than a standard repair.
Timeline and Customer Relief
PPL said it expected the large majority of remaining outages to be resolved by Monday evening, July 6, with more complex repairs expected to stretch through Wednesday, July 8. Customers can check status and report outages through the PPL Outage Map at pplelectric.com.
To help customers during the extended outage, PPL has waived its standard 24-hour requirement for ice and water reimbursement. Affected customers can receive bill credits for up to three gallons of water and three 10-pound bags of ice per day of outage while power remains out.
At a Glance
- Storms struck July 3–4, 2026; ranked among PPL Electric’s 10 worst-ever outage events
- Peak impact: approximately 199,000 customers without power across 29 counties
- As of Monday, July 6: approximately 60,000 customers still without service
- More than 2,000 PPL personnel deployed; mutual aid from Canada, Rhode Island Energy, LG&E and KU
- Full restoration for complex outages expected through Wednesday, July 8
- PPL waiving 24-hour minimum for ice and water bill credits; up to 3 gallons water and 3 bags of ice per day
