O&R Reports on Remaining Customer Restorations Due to Tropical Storm Isaias

Today, O&R dispatched hundreds of additional crews to restore its remaining 7,500 customers still without power.

For the most up-to-date outage information and to see individual restoration times, please go to O&R’s Outage Map.

Here are the latest outage numbers, with most affected communities listed below, as of 10 p.m.:

NEW YORK

Rockland:  2,218

Clarkstown - 597

Ramapo - 289

Spring Valley - 244

Orangetown - 208

Orange:  1,758

Town of Warwick - 796

Woodbury – 221

Tuxedo Park - 141

Town of Tuxedo - 131

Sullivan:  72

Mamakating - 69

NEW JERSEY

Bergen:  2,071

Saddle River -- 338

Mahwah -- 312

Allendale – 231

Wyckoff – 224

Passaic:  1,499

West Milford - 957

Ringwood - 542

Spoilage Reimbursement

In addition, O&R will reimburse customers for food and prescription medicine spoilage if they lost power for 48 consecutive hours or longer during the storm.

O&R Vice President – Customer Service Christina Ho said, “Being without power, even during normal times, is a real hardship. It’s even more difficult now because of COVID-19. To help our customers impacted by the destructive forces of Tropical Storm Isaias, we have expanded our claims process for customers who lost power in the storm.”

To cover costs, customer should fill out a claim form at : https://www.oru.com/en/services-and-outages/claim-form.

Residential customers may receive reimbursements for up to $235 with an itemized list, or up to $540 with an itemized list and proof of loss (with receipts, photos etc.).  Commercial customers are eligible for up to $10,700 for losses of perishable merchandise spoiled due to lack of refrigeration (with receipts, photos, invoices, etc.).

Requests for reimbursement must be filed on or before September 8, 2020.

Report Your Outage

If you are still experiencing a power outage, don’t assume that O&R automatically knows about it. You can report it and check to see when your lights will be back on through:

• At www.oru.com/reportoutage from any computer or web-based mobile device.
• O&R mobile app from your iPhone, iPad or Android device --- download via Apple Store or Google Play.
• Text messaging by texting “OUT” to 69678 (myORU) or
• Call 1-877-434-4100.

The following video describes the typical storm repair and power restoration process:

Be Safe

As its storm recovery work continues, O&R reminds its customers about the safety risks associated with using generators to provide emergency power to homes. Portable generators pose a serious hazard if used improperly. They should be used and installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. A wrong connection could feed electricity back through the lines and endanger repair crews.

Never plug a generator into a wall unit, use it indoors or set it up outdoors near open home windows or air-handling vents.

O&R also renews its warning about staying clear of downed electric wires. Don’t go near any downed wire. Assume it is energized and dangerous. Call O&R immediately toll-free at 1-877-434-4100. Depending on the situation, you may also want to call your local police to divert traffic until an O&R crew arrives.

Important Safety Tips

• Maintain a distance of at least 50 feet from downed wires and anything they are in contact with including puddles of water and fences. Supervise your children so that they are not in the vicinity and keep pets on a leash or otherwise secure.
• If a fallen wire is draped over a car, do not approach the car and make rescue attempts. Remain a safe distance away and try to keep the occupant of the vehicle calm. If possible, emergency personnel should handle the situation.
• Pole-top transformers – those small grey-colored metal drums attached to the wires at the tops of most utility poles – also should be avoided when they have been knocked to the ground.
• Have emergency equipment within reach – portable radio, flashlights, spare batteries, first aid kit, cell phone and important medications. Keep O&R’s toll-free number 1-877-434-4100 near the phone to report power outages.

Remember: if the base station of your cordless phone plugs into the wall, your phone will be unusable during a power outage.

As an added safety precaution, O&R personnel have been instructed to practice social distancing with each other and members of the public when responding to emergency calls to keep everyone safe from the coronavirus. O&R asks members of the public to maintain appropriate social distancing when they encounter O&R employees working in the field, to provide for mutual safety.

About Orange & Rockland

Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R), a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc., one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies, is a regulated utility. O&R provides electric service to approximately 300,000 customers in southeastern New York State (where its franchise name is Orange & Rockland) and northern New Jersey (where it’s Rockland Electric Company) and natural gas service to approximately 130,000 customers in New York. 

O&R serves the following communities in New York: Airmont, Bloomingburg, Blooming Grove, Chester Town, Chester Village, Chestnut Ridge, Clarkstown, Crawford, Deerpark, Florida, Forestburgh, Goshen Town, Goshen Village, Grand View, Greenwood Lake, Greenville, Harriman, Haverstraw Town, Haverstraw Village, Highland Falls, Highlands, Hillburn, Kaser, Kiryas Joel, Lumberland, Mamakating, Middletown, Minisink, Monroe Town, Monroe Village, Montebello, Mount Hope, New Hempstead, New Square, Nyack, Orangetown, Otisville, Palm Tree, Piermont, Pomona, Port Jervis, Ramapo, Sloatsburg, South Blooming Grove, South Nyack, Spring Valley, Stony Point, Suffern, Tuxedo Town, Tuxedo Park, Unionville, Upper Nyack, Wesley Hills, Wallkill, Warwick Town, Warwick Village, Washingtonville, Wawayanda, West Haverstraw, Woodbury, Woodbury Village, Wurtsboro. 

O&R, as Rockland Electric Company, serves the following communities in New Jersey: