Pennsylvania Utilities Commission sounds off on Hurricane Irene problems

State regulators have analyzed power companies' responses to Hurricane Irene and they're letting them have it.

Pennsylvania's Public Utility Commission says all utilities must improve their ability to handle high call volume during severe outages.

They also need to strengthen their relationships with county emergency management officials and elected officials.

For instance, the PUC says PPL had issues with incorrect and estimated power restoration times.

The PUC called PPL's capability to handle high call volume inadequate and the PUC says PPL doesn't offer a staff member to county emergency officials.

PPL has responded to the PUC via Twitter saying it appreciates the PUCs review of last years storms.

It says, in part: "Since last year, we've expanded our capacity to handle customer phone calls and outage reports during storm situations.

We've made it easier to report outages with mobile devices and rolled out a mobile-friendly Outage Center to inform customers.