January 26, 2026
10:00 a.m. ET

Winter Storm Fern brought freezing rain, heavy snowfall, and dangerous travel conditions to much of the southeast and mid-Atlantic United States, and continues to bring heavy snowfall to much of the northeast.

More than 65,000 mutual assistance workers from at least 43 states and Canada are operating around the clock and already have restored power to more than 200,000 customers. As of 10:00 a.m. ET, approximately 800,000 electricity customers across 10 states were without power as a result of Fern.* 

As restoration progress continues, mutual assistance crews will continuously be reallocated to the most impacted communities until every customer who is able to receive power is safely restored.

EEI President and CEO Drew Maloney joined CNBC this morning to discuss the restoration, saying: “It’s really a unified effort. I think it’s really important for everyone to understand the coordination with federal, state, and local officials … to get power up as quickly as possible during this historic ice storm.”

Winter storms can present unique challenges to crews working to assess damage and restore power. Assessing damage and restoring power will take time in areas where fallen trees, downed power lines, and snow and ice accumulation are limiting access. 

Some customers may not be able to receive power to their homes because of damage. If fallen trees or heavy ice damaged the point where wires connect to a customer’s home or business, inspections by a licensed electrician may be required before power can be restored. 

Customer and Crew Safety Comes First

Customers affected by the winter storm are reminded to:

• Stay away from downed or sagging power lines and debris. Treat all fallen wires and anything touching them as though they are energized. Immediately report downed lines to your electric company.
• Stay clear of ice-covered trees and branches. Remember that ice is heavy, and branches and trees can fall long after the storm has cleared.
• Keep roadways clear in order to enable damage assessors and restoration workers to do their jobs.
• Follow all recommended precautions if using a personal generator. Never use a generator inside your home, garage, crawl space, other enclosed areas, or anywhere exhaust fumes can enter enclosed spaces.
• Be aware of scammers and remember that your electric company will never request upfront payment or a reconnection fee in return for restoring your service.

*It is important to remember that outages measure customer meters impacted, not the number of individuals without power. Due to the nature of the storm, customers may have experienced more than one outage.