Skip to Main Content
ajax loader animation

Use O&R’s Cool Tips To Help Handle This Week’s Severe Heat, Humidity

  • Orange And Rockland Media Relations

  • Pearl River, NY – August 10, 2021 -- 11:30 AM

Because searing heat and stifling humidity are forecast for at least Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, O&R offers some Cool Tips to help its neighbors cope with summer’s steamy weather, 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: oru.com/myaccount

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

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 outages. The coming days could also bring thunderstorms, 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.

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.

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.

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. 

;