As of 10:00 p.m. Wednesday evening, Savannah Electric outages have gone from a peak of 54,600 earlier in the afternoon to 36,300.

At the time of this release, 60 of the company’s critical force employees are assessing the full extent of the damage from Hurricane Floyd so that the restoration process will be conducted in the most effective manner.

Employees from Alabama Power Company and Gulf Power Company will join crews from Savannah Electric -- totaling over 1,100 employees -- working in the field on Thursday early morning.

To expedite repairs, Savannah Electric offers these tips to customers returning home:

1. Call Outage Hotline 1 800 390-2834 The automated response system will prompt you to give the phone number of the location where the outage has occurred. It may also ask for your name. It will verify the address and automatically submit the information. You will only need to call one time.

2. Turning on your porch light will assist the repair crews. It will identify those residences still without service more quickly.

3. Do not attempt to clear or cut trees if you are not a professional.

4. Stay clear of crews and their work areas. It can be dangerous to be around while they are working.

This will be the final media release issued from Savannah Electric this evening. The next update will be after 8 a.m. Thursday morning.