O&R Makes Preparations for Hurricane Earl

As Hurricane Earl moves up the coast, Orange and Rockland Utilities says it has declared a company-wide Storm Watch in anticipation of possible heavy weather affecting the area as the Labor Day weekend approaches later this week.

O&R Storm Function coordinators have been examining weather forecasts, checking rosters, drawing up deployment charts, and generally preparing their organizations for possible activation, according to company spokesman Michael Donovan. The first-response organizations within the company have begun ramping up so they'll be ready to go at the first sign of any storm-related damage, he said.

In addition to its own overhead line crews, underground line crews and its gas department crews, O&R has contractors ready with heavy equipment to help if there is storm-related damage to the O&R system.

Donovan said O&R Emergency Management planners also are consulting with neighboring utilities about the impact along the hurricane's path and have been discussing preparations with the various mutual aid organizations to which the company belongs.

O&R offers these tips to Rocklanders as they prepare for the storm:

• 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, call 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 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, 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.

As O&R prepares for Earl, today's hot, steamy weather forecast has prompted the utility to issue another Summer Heat Watch advisory for today.

The weather is expected to push the load on the O&R electric system past 1,300 megawatts — today's forecast is for 1,382 megawatts — placing O&R on Heat Watch status. O&R's all-time electric demand record is 1,617 megawatts which was set on August 2, 2006.

The Heat Watch advisory means that field crews are focusing primarily on emergency work, with normal work being performed as system conditions permit. The advisory also means that distribution system engineers closely monitor the loads on distribution circuits, transformer banks and other key system components to detect any heat-related issues so any concerns are addressed quickly.

During these watches, O&R asks customers to conserve energy as much as possible to avoid a strain on the power system.