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ComEd Crews Head East For Storm Damage Control

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Crews from Chicago are answering the call to restore power in the northeast.

CBS 2's Lauren Victory caught up with ComEd workers heading out to help.

A 630 person ComEd militia heads to the east coast in what could be a long battle against weather.

It's Ricky Harris' second power-restoring mission in three years.

"When they tell you that you are going away, you basically always pack for two weeks," says Harris.

But trip coordinators are taking time to remind linemen about tricky conditions they could encounter when fixing downed poles and wires.

They'll be assisting a sister company with nearly one million customers without electricity after a nor'easter bringing high winds among several lingering concerns.

"The conditions on the ground, they are extremely muddy," says  Fidel Marquez of ComEd Community Relations. "Unfortunately there are situations where employees may be hurt just trying to get to a work site."

The first stop is Pennsylvania.

Afterwards crews will be dispatched to D.C., Maryland and New Jersey.

Harris says the overtime is nice but he likes the other rewards too.

"Every time we get the lights to come on we hear people clapping and applauding us," says Harris.

They hope to work quick.

Some meteorologists are predicting another massive storm in the same affected areas next week.

ComEd crews from Chicago have also been in Puerto Rico since last month working to restore power after Hurricane Maria.

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