From: Office of the Mayor Andrea V. Taylor, Press Secretary Office of the Mayor (216) 664-4171 or (216) 857-7998 Belinda I. Salda?a, Deputy Press Secretary Office of the Mayor (216) 664-2223 or (216) 857-3808 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 2, 2012 News Advisory Mayor Jackson Holds First Energy Accountable for Hundreds of Potentially Hazardous Down Wires CLEVELAND - Late last night, the City of Cleveland received information from First Energy regarding potentially hundreds of locations with wires down that could pose a safety risk. Mayor Frank G. Jackson immediately called a series of conference calls and required First Energy to establish a plan to assess the reported locations and mitigate the risks as quickly as possible. First Energy has been providing hourly updates regarding their progress and have committed to having their review completed by nightfall today. Due to this information and in light of yesterday's tragic event with a 12-year-old child being hurt after touching a downed power line, the City of Cleveland is encouraging families with children twelve and under to attend its annual Big City Boo celebrations held at city recreation centers from 6-8 p.m. this Saturday, November 3. The City of Cleveland is also asking that families refrain from trick or treating in the interest of safety. "This decision comes out of an abundance of caution to help keep our residents and children safe from harm as we work to resolve the fallout from Hurricane Sandy," said Mayor Jackson. "We will continue to work to identify and mitigate risks from power lines and restore power to our residents." Cleveland Public Power is also required to regularly report its progress regarding downed wires and power restoration to Mayor Jackson. The process of identifying potentially hazardous downed wires is ongoing and the number of reported wires down is constantly changing as we assess each location and we receive new calls. - 30 -