Chicago winter storm: ComEd prepares Emergency Operations Center for approaching snow

CHICAGO - ComEd is gearing up to activate its Emergency Operations Center in preparation for a winter storm targeting the Chicago area.

The center, located in Joliet, serves as the hub of ComEd’s operations during major weather events. There, employees are pre-positioned ahead of the storm and dispatched where needed.

"We adjust our staffing schedules so that we have more people on when we think we are going to need the greatest response, so it’s really an all-out effort, just to make sure we are ready," said John Schoen, ComEd spokesperson.

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In anticipation of the snowfall, ComEd is bringing in additional crews – including vegetation management teams – to assist in clearing branches and downed trees more efficiently.

With heavy and wet snow expected, ComEd's spokesperson emphasizes preparations for additional challenges.

"The wet, heavy snow, obviously, it’s a lot of weight. We get a lot more trees and tree branches that could fall and land on our power lines. Sometimes if it’s really heavy, we could see power lines that would snap as a result of having so much snow on them. Our goal is to make sure that our customers are inconvenienced as little as possible for something like this, so we make sure we’ve got a lot of crews, a lot of equipment, we have everything we need to make sure we can get at those outages very quickly," said Schoen.

Customers are encouraged to download ComEd's mobile app, where they can receive updates on power outage restorations.

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Like ComEd, crews with the Illinois Tollway will also be working around the clock.

On Monday, the Illinois Tollway readied a fleet of 196 snowplows.

They also have more than enough salt in storage – 105,000 tons to be exact. Over the past eight winters, the Illinois Tollway has used an average of 57,000 tons of salt each year.

Meanwhile, some school districts have already canceled classes or are moving to E-learning on Tuesday in response to the storm.