LATEST PSE&G UPDATE

This in late last night:

PSE&G Service Restoration Update – Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 10:00 p.m.

Outages:-- 45,000 remain from Hurricane Sandy, with 97 percent of 1.7 million customers affected by the storm restored.

-- 45,000 remain from the Nor’easter Wednesday night. At about 8 p.m., power was restored to about 20,000 customers affected by equipment failure at the Sewaren switching station. Affected towns included portions of: Carteret, Linden, Metuchen, Union,Woodbridge, Elizabeth, Kenilworth, Perth Amboy, Roselle, Roselle Park, Westfield, Clark, Edison, Port Reading and Rahway. 

• Since service restoration began, PSE&G has replaced at least 2,500 poles and 1,000 transformers, as well as cut down 41,000 trees, to repair widespread damage from the hurricane.
• Gas inspections: to safeguard public’s safety, PSE&G is inspecting customer gas piping, metering equipment and appliances in towns flooded by Sandy. Inspections are complete in 20 towns, with no additional gas shut-offs expected. Door-to-door inspections are occurring today and through the weekend in Harrison, Bayonne, Hoboken, Jersey City, Moonachie and Little Ferry. If someone is not home, we will leave a card with a phone number to call. A gas inspector will be available in the evenings. Inspections will take priority over other gas-related calls, except emergencies.
• When repairing damaged lines in an area, we may need to take a line out of service temporarily for safety reasons. Power will be restored as soon as it is safe to do so. We ask for customers’ understanding when this occurs.
• Customers may see a variety of vehicles at various damage locations. These trucks are staffed with standby personnel, gas workers, meter readers, and support people who are assisting the restoration effort by keeping the public away from downed wires and other electrical equipment while line crews are making repairs at other locations.
• There currently is no shortage of materials. However, this is an incredible restoration job so we continue to seek materials so we can be covered in case the damage in some areas turns out to be greater than anticipated. FEMA has offered to get materials for us and we will take advantage of that offer.
• Crews are working 16-hour days, with mandated rest periods and meal breaks.
• Since the start of the storm, PSE&G call centers have handled more than 2.1 million calls. We have suspended non-emergency work so that more workers are available to respond to customer calls.