Thousands Of Marylanders Wait For Power To Come Back On

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Thousands remain without power this hour after superstorm Sandy swept through the area. Over 90% of BGE customers have had their power restored, but most of the others should be back up and running by Friday night.

Meghan McCorkell has the latest.

Sandy's fury is still evident. The mayor of Crisfield is calling it the storm of the century. Waterlogged parts of Baltimore County are still drying out after waves breached the sea wall and in Anne Arundel County, tangled power lines mean some people will have another night in the dark.

"It took the transformer right off the top of this pole here and it went all the way on the ground," said Don Rice.

Utility crews have restored power to critical infrastructure and now BGE officials say the focus shifts.

"Now we turn our attention to the individual neighborhoods, where it may be less than 50 or 100 customers in one area," said Rob Gould, BGE.

In the areas they haven't reached yet, BGE has safety staff out guarding downed wires. Nearly 2,000 out-of-state utility crews are working alongside BGE's 3,000 crews to fix the damage Sandy caused.

Workers came from as far away as New Mexico, Texas and Illinois.

"When we get finished with the crews that are here, we will look to release them and I'm sure they'll be moving to the north to help those in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut and all the other states that need them," Gould said.

For now, they'll work day and night to get everyone back online.

There are small groups of people who may have to wait until the weekend for the lights to come back on.

Photo Gallery: Tracking Hurricane Sandy

Customers can report outages and downed wires by calling 877-778-2222. BGE says most of those left will have their power back by Friday evening.