Only a fraction of the 5,200 customers of West Penn Power in Butler County who lost electricity in an afternoon storm Monday still were in the dark Tuesday afternoon.

Todd Meyers, West Penn Power spokesman, said company crews work under a protocol that prioritizes restoring electricity to the largest groups first, so it is typical for small numbers of customers to go without power longer than population centers.

“What you're looking for is fixes that bring the largest amount of customers back online at a time,” Meyers said. “If you have a tree down on a large line, you have to clear that hazard. You wouldn't get your work done in a quick way if you went to each area and then made the fix.”

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