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For Second Day, O&R Storm Prep Doubles the Company's Field Forces

  • Orange & Rockland Media Relations

  • Pearl River – July 07, 2021 -- 06:00 PM

Severe Thunderstorms Expected Through the Evening Again Today

For the second consecutive day, Orange & Rockland’s (O&R) emergency response team is mobilized to repair damage and restore electric service outages that could result from severe, scattered thunderstorms that might develop across the area this evening.

O&R company and contractor overhead line crews and tree removal experts and the wide array of O&R teams that support those functions are being further supported by 105 additional overhead line contractors, more than doubling the size of O&R’s field forces.

Late yesterday afternoon and into the evening, a line of severe thunderstorms knocked out power to more than 13,000 O&R customers. O&R’s emergency response teams worked through the night to restore service to nearly all those customers Work continued through the day today to return electric service to the remaining 250 affected customers.

Weather Outlook

Today is again hot and humid with high temperatures in the low to mid 90’s. A weak cold front will approach the region during the evening and bring scattered showers and thunderstorms to the area. There is a potential for thunderstorms to become severe in isolated areas between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. tonight. 

A severe thunderstorm is defined as packing wind gusts of 57 mph or more, hail of one inch or more in diameter and heavy rains. The predicted potential severe storms could damage trees, utility poles, and overhead electric wires, causing power outages.

The cold front will weaken and stall in the region for Thursday, with warm and humid conditions expected to remain in place.  Mostly cloudy skies and the risk for isolated showers and storms will keep local temperatures in the upper 80’s Thursday. 

Moderate to heavy rain is likely Thursday night into Friday morning, with rainfall of around one inch expected. Tropical Storm Elsa will make its closest approach to the O&R region around Friday morning at 4 a.m. and remain nearby through noon. During that period, expect O&R to sustain winds of 5-20 mph, gusting to 25-35 mph. There remains a potential for tropical storm force wind gusts. Periods of moderate to heavy rain are likely during this timeframe across all areas, along with scattered thunderstorms

The following video describes the typical storm repair and power restoration process: https://youtu.be/JeGU8ID4_m0

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 at 911 to divert traffic until an O&R crew arrives.

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 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.

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.

In addition, O&R and contractor personnel have been instructed to follow 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.

To further help its customers prepare to weather a storm, O&R offers these tips:

  • 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).

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