Community Corner
Essex County Declares State of Emergency, PSE&G Poised to Respond
No significant power outages have been reported as of noon Friday, but storm expected to last into early morning Saturday.
No significant power outages have been reported in Essex County a few hours into Friday's Winter Storm, but PSE&G is ready to respond to what could be widespread outages throughout its service area, the utility said in advance of the Nor'easter.
Contractors, including tree crews, are poised and ready and additional supplies, such as poles, transformer and other equipment, are on hand, PSE&G said.
The Nor’easter could dump more than a foot of snow and bring heavy winds to Essex County, where widespread, long-term outages caused by Superstorm Sandy are still fresh on many residents’ minds.
Find out what's happening in Caldwellswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Essex County has declared a state of emergency, according to the county’s Office of Emergency Management. No parking will be allowed on country roads after 2 p.m. Friday and vehicles left on roads will be towed.
PSE&G said while snow alone does not pose a threat, heavy snow, icing and strong winds increase the likelihood of downed power lines which lead to outages.
Find out what's happening in Caldwellswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Many Essex residents lost power for a week or more after Sandy. The October storm led to gas shortages and rationing as residents swarmed to stations to top off tanks and fill up gas cans to power generators for their homes.
Power outages should be reported to PSE&G’s Customer Service line at 1-800-436-PSEG as well as www.pseg.com—and not to local police departments.
In the case of widespread outages, the utilty will use its Twitter account to provide updates.
PSE&G serves 2.2 million electric customers, or three-quarters of the state's population.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.