O&R: All Hands on Deck for Sandy [UPDATE]

Editor's Note: The following was provided by O&R.

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Updated Oct. 28, 2012 at 6 p.m.

O&R Mobilizes All Hands to Repair Major Storm Damage, Restore Power

PEARL RIVER, NY Oct. 28, 2012 6 p.m. --- O&R mobilized all of the company’s  personnel and resources today to be ready to repair damage and restore power interruptions expected once Tropical Storm Sandy enters the region.

The Company expects Hurricane Sandy to cause large scale damage to O&R’s equipment and repair work will likely be extensive.  Based on the historic nature of this event, O&R expects that service interruptions could last 7 -10 days, with a possibility of longer durations for some areas.

Storm Watch preparations have been ramping up since Thursday, and the Storm Alert declared this afternoon means more than 1,000 O&R field and administrative employees will be actively engaged in storm repair and service restoration work. They will be joined by more than 800 more contractor and mutual aid workers. Additional personnel and resources will be joining the effort through the week.

Due to the potential for flooding of the nearby Hackensack River, plans are being put in place to close O&R’s West Nyack Operations Center for the duration of this event, and to re-deploy those personnel and equipment based there to a new location

There are no severe weather emergencies on the O&R system currently, but New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have already declared states emergency because of the approaching storm.

For more information, visit O&R’s Storm Center at www.oru.com.

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O&R: All Hands on Deck to Repair Major Storm Damage, Restore Power

PEARL RIVER, NY Oct. 28, 2012 1 p.m. --- O&R is upgrading its operational readiness status to a Storm Alert as of 6 p.m. today.

That means a companywide mobilization of personnel and resources, activated to repair damage and restore power interruptions expected once Tropical Storm Sandy enters our service territory late Sunday.

The Company expects widespread storm damage with repairs being performed under difficult conditions for at least a week.

Storm Watch preparations have been ramping up since Thursday. The latest forecasts say this will be a major storm event at least as destructive as Hurricane Irene and, perhaps, more so.

There are no severe weather emergencies on the O&R system currently, but New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have already declared states emergency because of the approaching storm.

Although Hurricane Sandy’s strength has fluctuated between tropical storm and hurricane levels, the National Weather Service is predicting gale-force winds, very heavy rain and significant flooding across the region beginning late in the day Sunday. That violent weather is expected to stall here through Tuesday.

Due to the potential for flooding of the nearby Hackensack River, plans are being put in place to close O&R’s West Nyack Operations Center for the duration of this event, and to re-deploy those personnel and equipment based there to a new location. 

To help its customers prepare to weather a storm, O&R offers these tips: 

• 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, you may also want to call your 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 your 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.

For more information, visit O&R’s Storm Center at www.oru.com.