O&R’s Cool Tips Help Customers Cope With These Hot, Humid Summer Days

More oppressive heat and humidity promise to bake the region Tuesday and into the coming week. To cope with the steamy forecast, O&R is providing these cool tips to help its customers try to stay comfortable and save money on energy.

• Turn down or turn off air conditioning in your home while you are away or at work to help lower your energy bill.
• Set your air conditioner to the highest temperature your comfort and health will allow to help you save cooling money.
• Close all doors and windows in your home while the air conditioning is running to make things cooler at a lower price.
• Cook, bake or perform other household activities that produce heat and humidity during the cooler times of the day and night.
• Pull your curtains and shades closed to help block out the sun and the heat of the day.
• Take advantage of your smart meter by viewing your energy usage and customized energy savings tips located in your online account at: www.oru.com/myaccount

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.

The heat, humidity and increased demand for electricity to power air conditioners can pose challenges to electric delivery system, in some instances, overheating electrical equipment and resulting in scattered outages.O&R crews will be ready to respond to any, and all, issues that arise to make repairs and restore service.

The coming days could also bring thunderstorms, including later this week possibly the remnants of Tropical Storm Elsa, which can affect the overhead electric delivery system and cause outages.

The company urges members of the public to stay away from any wires that are downed during storms. Call your local police department at 911 or O&R at 1-877-434-4100 to report downed wires.

O&R crews follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines about face coverings and social distancing with each other and members of the public when responding to emergency calls. That’s an attempt to keep everyone safe from COVID-19. O&R also asks that members of the public remain a safe social distance from O&R crews, work sites and trucks.

To prepare for this summer’s peak demands for electricity, O&R has made investments totaling over $130 million this year to fortify and improve the reliability of its electric system. That investment builds on the nearly $1 billion O&R has invested over the past 10 years on electric system maintenance and reliability projects.

For energy efficiency tips, incentives and rebates, please visit: www.oru.com/save.

About Orange & Rockland

Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc., one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies. O&R is a regulated utility that 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.