Severe Storm Tree Damage Still Causing Power Outages; O&R Urges Customers to Report Dangerous Conditions

PEARL RIVER, NY Nov. 8, 2011 — As the region continues to recover from the most destructive storm ever to hit the O&R service area, new tree-related power outages are occurring as a result of residual tree and electric system equipment damage.

More than 134,000 customers lost power at some point during the powerful snowstorm that roared into O&R's service area on Saturday, Oct.29. In addition to the unprecedented mid-autumn weather event in which heavy wet snow toppled hundreds of fully leafed hardwood trees, the destruction to the O&R electric system created a situation in which damage was layered onto circuits. That layered damage required as many as a dozen separate repairs to one circuit to restore electric service to some neighborhoods.

Collateral damage from a severe storm typically continues to create electric system problems weeks after the actual weather event as trees, poles and electric equipment that might have sustained damage in the storm eventually fail. O&R is patrolling its lines on foot, by truck and by helicopter, searching for damage in the storm's aftermath.

O&R also is taking advantage of the substantial number of mutual aid and contractor crews it hired to help with service restoration, and the extended hours they and O&R crews are working, to help mitigate that collateral damage's affect on the O&R electric system and its customers.

Despite those intensive efforts, outages occur.

For safety's sake, always assume a downed electrical wire is live. Don't touch or approach any downed wires. Call O&R immediately at 1-877-434-4100 to report it or any potentially dangerous condition that could affect your electric service and let line crews safely deal with the problem.