Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R) will mobilize its emergency response workforce on Friday morning in anticipation of strong winds expected to affect the Hudson Valley. Forecasts indicate sustained winds up to 30 miles per hour, with gusts reaching 55 miles per hour from Friday into early Saturday. Recent rainfall has left the ground saturated and, combined with high tree foliage, may result in downed trees and limbs that could disrupt electric service.
The company’s overhead line crews, contractors, tree removal specialists, customer service operators, and other members of O&R’s emergency response team are preparing to respond throughout the storm.
O&R is urging the public to exercise caution around downed wires. “For safety’s sake, O&R warns the public not to touch or approach any downed wire. Assume the wire is energized and dangerous. Call O&R immediately toll-free 1-877-434-4100. Depending on the situation, you may also consider calling your local police to divert traffic from the downed wire’s location until an O&R crew arrives,” according to an official statement.
Customers who experience power outages are advised not to assume their outage has been reported automatically. Outages can be reported through several methods: online via the Report an Electric Service Problem portal at https://www.oru.com/en/services-and-outages/report-service-problem, using O&R’s mobile app available on Apple Store or Google Play, by texting “OUT” to 678797 (ORUPWR), or by calling 1-877-434-4100.
After it is safe to begin restoration work, O&R will prioritize clearing downed wires blocking roads and restoring power to critical facilities such as police stations, fire departments, and hospitals. Crews will then address outages affecting large numbers of customers before working on smaller outages and individual cases.
O&R provided several safety tips for residents during severe weather events:
“For safety’s sake, don’t touch or approach any downed wire. Assume it is energized and dangerous. Call O&R immediately toll-free 1-877-434-4100. Depending on the situation, you may also want to call your local police to divert traffic until an O&R crew arrives.
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 to 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.”
Owners of electric vehicles are advised by O&R to keep their cars charged between 75%–90% ahead of possible extended outages since charging infrastructure may be impacted during storms.
Orange and Rockland Utilities serves about 300,000 electric customers across southeastern New York State under its franchise name Orange & Rockland Utilities (https://www.oru.com/en/about-us/company-profile) as well as northern New Jersey under Rockland Electric Company; natural gas service reaches approximately 140,000 customers in New York.
The company supplies electricity across numerous communities in both states including towns such as Clarkstown in New York and Mahwah in New Jersey.
