Utilities Plan for Possible Power Outages Wednesday, Thanksgiving Thursday

Both Orange & Rockland and PSE&G, the two utilities that serve Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes, are preparing to respond to possible downed power lines and outages on Wednesday, and Thanksgiving Thursday as a result of a predicted storm that may bring a mix of strong winds, rain, and snow, the utilities announced in releases Tuesday.

O&R declared a company-wide storm watch at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

“Heavy winds could knock trees into power lines, causing poles and lines to come down and customers to lose power,” the company said in a release.

PSE&G also warned that its customers may lose power.

“This storm does have the potential to interrupt service, and customers should prepare for the possibility of outages,” the company said in a release.

Both utilities said they were prepping Tuesday for the potential impacts of the storm.

“PSE&G is ensuring that all available personnel are ready to respond should there be outages.”

 “O&R Emergency Response Operations coordinators are meeting throughout the day [Tuesday], examining weather forecasts and generally preparing their organizations for activation. The first-response organizations within the company will be ramped up so they are ready to work at the first sign of storm-related damage.”

If the area does experience power outages as a result of the storm, O&R said it will respond to issues in order of severity.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a 100% chance of precipitation Wednesday and strong winds to continue on Thanksgiving.

• Wednesday: Rain and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 55. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.
• Wednesday Night: A slight chance of rain and snow showers before 11pm, then a slight chance of snow showers between 11pm and midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. Northwest wind 14 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Thanksgiving Day: Sunny, with a high near 33. Breezy, with a northwest wind 16 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.

The utilities also issued safety tips for customers to follow during the storm, namely to stay away from and report downed wires.