STORM PREPAREDNESS & OUTAGE REPORTING INFORMATION
If Your Power is Supplied by Orange & Rockland:
To help its customers cope with storms in 2022, Orange & Rockland (O&R) is providing some practical tips.
O&R crews will be ready to repair damage and restore service as needed through the duration any storm.
Be Safe
O&R urges its customers to stay clear of downed electric wires. Don’t go near any downed wire. Assume it is energized and dangerous. Call O&R immediately toll-free at 1-877-434-4100. If the situation requires urgent action, call your local police at 911 to divert traffic until an O&R crew arrives.
How to report an outage
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 www.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.
Important Safety Tips
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 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.
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.
Remember: if the base station of your cordless phone plugs into the wall, your phone will be unusable during a power outage.
If Your Power is Supplied by PSE&G:
Use this link to prepare for the storm: https://nj.pseg.com/safetyandreliability/stormsafety/beforeastorm
Use this link during a storm for information and to report and outage: https://nj.pseg.com/safetyandreliability/stormsafety/duringastormnew
Message from Optimum - Storm Preparedness & Recovery Information
Storms with heavy snowfalls and high winds may cause power outages and network damage impacting internet, TV and phone service.
In the event Optimum services are impacted, customers can view/search for outage information on an easy-to-use, interactive online map with display estimated resolution timeframes online at Storm Center Outage Map. We strongly encourage our customers to receive related service alerts via text or voice message by signing up and opting in via My Account. Once confirmed, these customers will be notified when outages affect their service and will receive timely updates until their service is restored. Customers may also utilize the options below to contact Optimum:
Message Optimum at optimum.net/chat
Send Tweet to @Optimumhelp
Call us at (866) 950-3278
Please note that many of these resources, as well as storm preparation recommendations and frequently asked questions, are also available at https://www.optimum.com/storm
Our fully staffed teams are rapidly preparing across the area to assist Optimum customers with any immediate needs. Additionally, our regional operations center continually monitors the network to spot outages and enable our teams to diagnose and resolve any issues. While some outages cannot be prevented, please know that our crews will be working around the clock to restore service as safely and quickly as possible. The safety of our customers and employees is our number one concern, so please stay safe.
VERIZON FIOS SERVICE DURING THE STORM
Verizon Fios is monitoring the network and will report any significant impacts to the system.
1. Sign in to your My Verizon account to check for outages that may be affecting your services. Should there be a service outage, they will provide you with a ticket number and estimated time of repair completion.
2. Sign in to your My Verizon account to manage service alerts within your Communication Preferences in My Verizon. From there, you can opt in to receive account/service related messages by email and text message.
3. Follow them on Twitter. Follow @VerizonSupport and @VerizonNews for the latest on outages and Verizon’s recovery and relief efforts.
4. Chat with them over your PC or Mac. Visit the Contact Us page for Fios and Home Internet customers and click on the Chat button.
5. Call them at (800) 837-4966
6. Download their apps. The My Fios App can be used for additional support through smartphones and the Fios TV app can be used to watch TV programs including newscasts.
VIDEO OFFERS TIPS TO MAKE O&R’s OUTAGE MAP WORK BETTER FOR YOU
PEARL RIVER, NY March 30, 2022 6 a.m. --- Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R) today released a new video designed to provide its New York and New Jersey electric customers with more detailed information than ever before about the impact that storm-related electric service interruptions have on the company’s electric system and its customers.
The video focuses on offering useful tips that enable customers to easily navigate O&R’s interactive Outage Map and capture much more of the detailed outage information contained there. A program guide also is available to supplement the video. That is located on O&R’s Outage Map. Go to the upper left corner of the Outage Map where the word “HELP” with a question mark “?” is located. Press that word and the program guide appears.
The Outage Map is an online map of the O&R service territory that marks the location of individual power outages with color-coded icons. Those symbols’ colors reflect the range of numbers of customers within each outage. The Outage Map also provides estimated restoration times (ERTs) for outages
The new 2-minute video drills down into the Outage Map’s design and provides a step-by-step, simple blueprint of the Outage Map’s basic functionality including:
Menu. This section shows an overview of all power outages within O&R’s service area as well as information about the time the Outage Map was last updated.
Search Tool. Customers can find up-to-date information about their outages by searching for a specific address on the search box.
Map Tools. This section allows customers to view outages by location, county or municipality.
See the video:
In English:
https://players.brightcove.net/954168402001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6294163407001
In Spanish:
https://players.brightcove.net/954168402001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6300993524001
O&R Vice President – Customer Service Janette Espino said, “The Outage Map is the customer’s best source of information during any type of storm event.’
She added, “This new video gives customers tips and information they need at their fingertips on how to use the Outage Map from wherever they are to make informed decisions.”
How to Report an Outage
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:
Any web-based mobile device or computer at www.oru.com/ReportOutage.
O&R’s 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
A phone call to 1-877-434-4100.