Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R) has mobilized its emergency response teams in anticipation of the nor’easter currently affecting the region. The company announced that high winds, with gusts expected to reach 30-40 miles per hour, are forecasted to intensify through the evening and continue into early Monday afternoon.
O&R has additional contractor teams and 100 mutual aid workers on standby to help restore power as quickly and safely as possible. These crews are prepared to work through the night if necessary.
For real-time updates on power outages, customers can access the Outage Map via O&R’s website or watch instructional videos available in English and Spanish. Outages can be reported through several channels: online at O&R’s website, via the mobile app for Apple and Android devices, by texting “OUT” to 678797 (ORUPWR), or by calling 1-877-434-4100.
O&R issued a warning about 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.”
Once conditions are safe for assessment and repairs, restoration priorities will focus first on clearing wires blocking roads and restoring power to critical facilities such as police stations, fire departments, and hospitals. Repairs will then proceed to areas where service can be restored for the largest number of customers before addressing smaller outages and individual homes.
O&R provided several safety tips for residents during the storm:
“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.”
The company also reminded electric vehicle owners to keep their vehicles charged between 75% and 90% ahead of potential outages.
O&R serves about 300,000 electric customers in southeastern New York State under its own name and in northern New Jersey as Rockland Electric Company; it also provides natural gas service to approximately 140,000 customers in New York.
Communities served by O&R include numerous towns across southeastern New York such as Clarkstown, Goshen Village, Middletown, Nyack, Orangetown, Suffern, Warwick Town and others; while its service area in northern New Jersey includes places like Allendale, Mahwah, Montvale, Ramsey, Upper Saddle River and parts of West Milford.
