![portland general electric login portland general electric login](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/RN7EC0/portland-general-electric-company-logo-seen-displayed-on-smart-phone-RN7EC0.jpg)
Average outage restoration times are about 7% faster and outage text notifications and digital payment options are making a difference in customer satisfaction. Today versus a year ago, customers are experiencing about 16% less planned outages. The recent storms and wildfires last fall on top of the pandemic with so many people living, working and learning remotely underscore the importance of our ongoing system hardening and reinvestment programs, combined with the deployment of digital capabilities, AI and smart grid technologies. As of March 31, the cost of the February storm were $87 million, which Jim will discuss in detail. I want to recognize the hard work of our coworkers, mutual aid crews and assistance from as far away as Southern California, Utah, Montana to Alberta, British Columbia, all of whom in the midst of a pandemic went above and beyond to restore power quickly and most importantly, safely.Įven as we speak, crews continue to repair equipment and clear down trees, as damage is still extensive. In February, we restored over 750,000 customer outages, as nearly half of our customers were without power, many of whom experienced multiple outages over a more - more than 2.5-week period. And I'm proud of how our teams came together, responding to the most severe, ice, wind and snowstorms in our history, improving our operations and achieving important customer-focused results. This quarter, again, presented significant weather-driven operational challenges. Jim will cover first-quarter results in more detail, provide regulatory and capital updates, as well as discuss the outlook for the rest of the year. In light of the strong quarter and positive outlook, we are reaffirming our 2021 earnings guidance of $2.55 to $2.70 per share, as well as our long-term earnings and dividend growth rates. We reported net income of $96 million or $1.07 per share compared to net income of $81 million or $0.91 per share in the first quarter of last year. Our financial results this quarter were strong.
![portland general electric login portland general electric login](http://media.liveauctiongroup.net/i/8324/9774223_1.jpg)
Thank you, Jardon, and thank you all for joining us today. Pope - Director, President and Chief Executive Officer Now it's my pleasure to turn the call over to Maria. Following their prepared remarks, we will open the line for your questions. Leading our discussion today are Maria Pope, President and CEO and Jim Ajello, Senior Vice President of Finance, CFO and Treasurer. For a description of some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, please refer to our earnings press release and our most recent periodic reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, which are available on our website. We caution you that such statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially from our expectations. Referring to Slide 2, some of our remarks this morning will constitute forward-looking statements.
![portland general electric login portland general electric login](https://i2.ypcdn.com/blob/cc796c3605f270d333620175bf38511a8ccaf9af_400x260_crop.jpg)
![portland general electric login portland general electric login](https://img.yumpu.com/33363655/1/500x640/how-to-read-your-time-of-use-meter-portland-general-electric.jpg)
The slides are available on our website at. Before we begin this morning, I'd like to remind you that we've prepared a presentation to supplement our discussion, which we'll be referencing throughout the call. I'm pleased that you're able to join us today.