PSE&G Restoration Progress - October 31, 2011, 9:00 pm
PSE&G is making steady progress restoring power to the more than 560,000 customers affected by Saturday's wet, heavy snow that brought down numerous trees and power lines.
As Governor Christie noted earlier today, this storm caused more significant damage to our electric infrastructure than Hurricane Irene. The majority of outages are in Bergen, Essex, Passaic and Union counties due to the extensive amount of tree and power line damage.
"While we work to restore power to the greatest number of customers first, we also have a large number of individual service lines that go from our poles to customers' homes and businesses that are damaged as a result of falling tree limbs," said Ralph LaRossa, PSE&G president and COO. "The volume of these individual service line repairs presents a challenge to full restoration."
PSE&G will meet the state's expectations of having at least 95 percent of customers restored by Thursday. At this time, approximately 150,000 customers remain without power.
Crews continue to work around the clock to restore service. PSE&G has 125 crews and 212 tree crews working on restoration. In addition to its own crews, the utility has 91 contractor crews currently working and an additional 60 crews arriving from utilities in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, to assist in the restoration effort.
Note that electric crews work to restore power to the largest numbers of customers first, taking into account "priority" customers, such as hospitals, police stations, fire stations, water and sewer facilities, schools, and communications facilities (TV, radio, and telephone). At the same time, the utility restores power to homes and businesses, starting with the circuits serving the largest number of customers.
Important Safety Messages:
- Downed wires should always be considered "live." STAY AWAY FROM ALL DOWNED LINES. Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything with which it might be in contact. To report a downed wire or other visible equipment damage, call 1-800-436-PSEG (7734). Provide the street as well as the nearest cross street.
- Check on the safety of your elderly neighbors. See if they are safe and if they need extra blankets or other help. Contact local officials if assistance is needed.
- Do not try to use a gas oven or range to heat a room. The appliance will deplete oxygen from the air, causing asphyxiation or deadly carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Be cautious if using space heaters. Read and follow the manufacturer's instructions and heed warning labels. Be sure all members of the household understand how to operate space heaters safely.
We thank our municipal partners, the police, firefighters, emergency responders and public officials, who share our commitment to the communities we serve and are critical in helping us to provide safe and timely restoration.
We thank you for your patience as we continue to make progress toward full restoration.