South Orange Sees 500 -2000 Without Power

PSE&G is reporting approximately 375,000 PSE&G customers were without power statewide as of 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

A detailed outage map on the PSE&G website shows between 2,000 and 5,000 outages in Maplewood and between 500 and 2,000 outages in South Orange. Unconfirmed reports from several residents -- PSE&G is not available to confirm this information -- suggest that a transformer near the Duck Pond blew around 10:30 leaving parts of Vose Avenue without power. This is likely to add to South Orange's total. [Please note: Patch will try to confirm and find out more on Monday.]

The other towns most affected are Newark with 5,000 to 10,000 outages, West Orange (2,000 to 5,000), Montclair (2,000 to 5,000), Nutley (2,000 to 5,000). Belleville, East Orange, Orange and Irvington each reported between 500 and 1,000 outages. The remaining Essex County towns were reporting between 1 and 500 outages each (although a number of those towns are served by JCP&L).

The utility issued a statement at 7:30 p.m. Sunday saying the number of outages continues to climb as flooding impacts the region. PSE&G reports that it has 6,000 employees "supporting the restoration efforts" including 840 PSE&G and out-of-state linemen, an additional 50 crews from Ohio, and 540 tree contractors.

And this portion of the statement might be the most exciting part of the release for those Maplewood residents who have been told that power would be restored by September 4: "While the majority of customers will be restored within 48 hours, customers should be prepared for potentially lengthy outages of up to seven days. Those outages due to flooding will take the longest to restore."

Forty-eight hours sounds better than seven days — even if it isn't a guarantee.

Meanwhile, you can track outage information and locations online on the PSE&G outage center.

Here's more information from the 7:30 p.m. release:

In addition to widespread electric outages, the heavy rain and storm surge may result in gas outages. Water could enter the utility’s gas distribution system, as well as flood customers’ basements and gas appliances. Customers are reminded to call PSE&G to report gas odors and to contact their local municipal officials for direction and assistance in pumping water out of their basements.

FLOODED BASEMENTS

Flooded basements can pose a genuine safety risk. Customers should be cautious:

• If they lose electricity and their basement is flooded, notify PSE&G (1-800-436-PSEG (7734) and call their municipality. Stay away from the breaker box if it's in a flooded basement. And don’t go into a flooded basement if energized wires are present.
• If water is rising to the height of any gas appliance, the gas supply to the appliance should be turned off.  If customers are unable to do so, they should contact PSE&G or their local police or fire department for assistance. To restore gas service to appliances call PSE&G (1-800-436-7734) and have the appliances checked for safety and restored to proper operation.
• Customers should call PSE&G (1-800-436-PSEG (7734) immediately if they smell gas.

GENERATORS

Customers who use portable electric generators should carefully read and follow the manual that came with it. Be sure your generator is UL-approved, installed by a licensed electrician and inspected by your local electrical inspector.  There must be a way to physically disconnect your generator from utility lines.  Customers who improperly install, operate or maintain a generator are responsible for any injury or damage suffered by themselves, their neighbors or utility workers.

To report a power outage, call PSE&G’s Customer Service line: 1-800-436-PSEG (7734).

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, communications facilities (TV, radio, and telephone), and customers on life-sustaining medical equipment.  At the same time, the utility restores power to homes and businesses, starting with the circuits serving the largest number of customers.

Customers with a handheld device, or who are at an alternate location with power, can also report power outages and view the status of their outage by logging in to My Account at pseg.com. General outage activity throughout our service territory is available online at pseg.com/outagecenter and updates are posted on pseg.com during severe weather.

We have activated our Twitter page to keep the public informed about our restoration progress. Sign up as a follower at twitter.com/psegoutageinfo.