O and R: Working Through the Night to Restore Power to 20,000 Customers

PEARL RIVER, NY Nov. 26, 2014 3:45 p.m. — O&R crews will be working through the night to restore power to almost 20,000 customers whose electric service remains out as a result of system damage caused by the heavy wet snowstorm now moving through the region.

Approximately 24,000 customers at over 150 different locations have experienced outages thus far as a result of the storm. Most of those outages occurred early this afternoon. O&R has restored service to approximately 4,000 customers.

The heaviest storm damage has occurred thus far north and west of Rt. 84 where the snowfall has been heaviest.

Approximately 40 O&R overhead line crews, 30 O&R/Con Edison contractor overhead line crews and 45 tree-trimming crews are working in the field now.

O&R upgraded its preparedness level to Storm Alert this morning and mobilized company crews and contract personnel to repair storm damage and restore electric service as needed.

The storm, which began about 7 a.m. with a rain and snow mix and then changed to snow, is expected to continue through the evening. Accumulations are expected to total as much as 8 inches. Winds are expected to be 5-15 mph with some brief gusts. The temperature is expected to hover around 32 degrees.

There are several ways customers can report outages and check service restoration status:

• Go to www.oru.com from any computer or web-enabled mobile device;
• Use the O&R mobile app from your iphone, iPad or Android device;
• Text “OUT” to 69678 (myORU); or
• Call Customer Assistance at 1-877-434-4100

Go to www.oru.com/mobileconnect to learn more about our mobile communication options.

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

• 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.

• 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.

• Stock up on non-perishable food, bottled water, manual can opener, baby supplies and pet food. Set your refrigerator and freezer controls to their coldest settings. Fill the bathtub with water.

• Have emergency equipment within reach — portable radio, flashlights, candles and matches, spare batteries, first aid kit, cell phone and important medications. Update your personal list of emergency phone numbers. Keep O&R’s toll-free number 1-877-434-4100 near the phone to report power outages.

• If you experience a power outage, don’t assume that O&R automatically knows about it or that someone else will report it. To be sure the outage is reported, please call O&R toll-free at 1-877-434-4100 to let O&R know what happened. The more information you can provide, the more O&R can help you.

• Remember: if the base station of your cordless phone plugs into the wall, your phone will be unusable during a power outage.

• If a family member relies on electrically operated medical devices, secure a portable generator or make alternate arrangements for care. O&R does not provide customers with generators.

• Keep at least a half-tank of gas in your car. Consider having extra cash on-hand, in case ATM machines don’t work.

• Listen for storm alerts on the radio. In case of power outages, O&R will keep the stations updated on repair progress.

• Learn how to manually open and close any electrically powered garage door, security door or gate.

For more information, visit O&R’s Storm Center at www.oru.com.