O&R Restores Power To 5,600 Since 7 P.M. As Outages Continue to Increase

O&R is repairing storm damage and restoring electric service today to approximately 5,600 customers at over 125 different locations whose power was knocked out this evening due to high winds.

Since 7 p.m. today, O&R has restored electric service to approximately 9,000 customers bringing the total number of customers affected thus far by this storm to 14,700.

Here are the current outage numbers by county, and the top three communities with outages at this hour in those counties as of 9:30 p.m. today.

NEW YORK

Rockland  

1. Clarkstown -- 1,285

2. Ramapo -- 124

3. West Haverstraw -- 48

Orange     1. Monroe -- 1,676

2. Wallkill --  1,312

3. Warwick Town -- 504

Sullivan    

1.Mamakating -- 5

2.Lumberland --  2

NEW JERSEY

Bergen  

1. Cresskill -- 465

2. Wyckoff --    70

3. Closter --     63

Passaic  

West Milford -- 42

Sussex  

Vernon - 15

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

O&R’s full complement of company and contractor overhead line technicians and tree removal experts are working to help restore outages as they come in. Seventy-five outside contractors have also been obtained to supplement those efforts. Those contractors increased O&R’s field forces by about 65 percent.

Damage assessment, site safety, customer service operations and the wide array of O&R teams also are giving strong support to restoring service.     

Strong winds may knock trees and branches onto power lines, causing customers to lose service. The rain-saturated ground also provides less stable footing for the roots that anchor trees. This evening’s cold front brought rain and winds that clocked in at 15-25 mph sustained with gusts of 40-50 mph. The front will exit the area just before midnight, but the potential for wind gusts of 40 mph exists throughout tonight into Monday morning. 

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

How to report an outage

If you experience 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.

Be Safe

O&R urges its customers to stay 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. If the situation requires urgent action, 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.
• 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 our 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.
• 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

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: Allendale, Alpine, Closter, Cresskill, Demarest, Franklin Lakes, Harrington Park, Mahwah, Haworth (part), Montague, Montvale, Northvale, Norwood, Oakland, Old Tappan (part), Ramsey, Ringwood, Rivervale (part), Rockleigh, Saddle River (part), Upper Saddle River, Wantage (part), Vernon (part), West Milford (part), Wyckoff (part).