O&R Crews Working Through the Holiday to Repair Damage, Restore Service From Christmas Eve Storm

O&R crews and contractor workers are repairing storm damage and restoring electric service this Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. So far, approximately 1,170 customers at 14 different locations have lost power due to the high winds and heavy rains associated with tonight’s storm.

Current outage numbers, as of 9:15 pm:

New York

Rockland County: 78

Orange County: 39

Sullivan County: 1,052

O&R’s full complement of company and contractor overhead line technicians and tree removal experts are ready to expedite system repairs and electric service restoration as needed for customers whose power has been or could be knocked out today by the high gusty winds and heavy rains still pummeling the region.  Damage assessment, site safety, customer service operations and the wide array of O&R teams that support those functions also are ready to aid in service restoration efforts.

In addition, O&R has hired more than 140 more contractor overhead line technicians to help make repairs as needed, doubling O&R’s normal electric emergency field response contingent, and has also called several employees back from vacation.

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 by:

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

How Restoration Works

Once it is safe to assess storm damage and begin service restoration, O&R crews will give priority to making repairs that clear major community roads – work that also restores power to a sizable number of neighboring customers. At the same time, crews will restore power to critical and emergency facilities (police and fire stations, and hospitals, for example). Then, crews will focus on getting power back on to those locations that will return electricity to the most customers quickly. Crews then will work their way down to restore smaller outages and individual customer’s outages

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

Be Safe – Don’t go near downed wires

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.

Safety

O&R offers the following storm tips to help customers stay safe and weather the possible effects of a storm:

• Do not go near downed electrical wires – maintain a distance of at least 50 feet. Treat downed wires as if they are live. Never attempt to move them or touch them with any object. Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden from view by snow, tree limbs, leaves or water.
• Report all downed wires to O&R at 1-877-434-4100 and your local police department to divert traffic until O&R crews arrive. If a power line falls on your car while you’re in it, stay inside the vehicle and wait for emergency personnel.
• 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.

In addition, O&R personnel have been instructed to ensure all safety protocols when responding to emergency calls to keep everyone safe from the coronavirus. O&R asks members of the public to maintain appropriate social distance 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:

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).