PSE&G Exceeds Initial Restoration Estimate, But Outages Linger

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — After days without power for hundreds of thousands across New Jersey, there is finally light at the end of the tunnel, and possibly in your home.

PSE&G, a power provider for over 2.3 million New Jersey customers, said on Friday that 90 percent of those who dealt with outages and interruptions will have their power restored as of 9:45 a.m., exceeding their own personal estimate of 85 percent by Friday.

The remaining 10 percent represent upwards of 50,000 customers who could be waiting as long as Monday to have their power restored, Chief Operating Officer Kim Hanemann said on a Friday call with reporters.

“We are absolutely saying that there may be some folks that move into Monday as well,” said Hanemann.

“I also recognize for the 10 percent of customers not restored this is frustrating. We are committed and working very hard to get the rest of the 10 percent.”

The company says this week’s worst point saw 575,000 customers facing service interruptions in the wake of the storm. Hanemann told reporters that Isaias was the fifth most severe storm in company history, and second only to Sandy in the last eight years.

Still, 35,922 customers remain affected in Bergen County, 18,233 in Essex County and 8,559 in Passaic County, according to the company outage map as of 12:30 p.m.

A number of factors have made restoration progress tedious at times, Hanemann said.

Isaias caused damage up nearly the entire East Coast, meaning that linemen and women are valued at a premium as all affected utility companies look for the same resource: manpower.

Throughout the week, PSE&G have added additional tree crews and lineworkers from 15 states and Canada, including an additional 100 workers Friday.

The company was forced to adapt their storm and safety procedures in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has “slowed” restoration efforts, the company said Friday.

Crews started with priority customers, such as hospitals and emergency services prior to moving to circuits serving the largest number of customers. Now, Hanemann said, they are moving into smaller areas, where progress becomes more incremental.

With that said, some priority customers are still reporting service interruptions.

In Teaneck, the municipal building and police departments were operating off generators on Thursday. On Friday, Township Manager Dean Kazincisaid the municipal building had power restored, but the police department and Department of Public Works building were still powered by generators.

In Wayne Township, Mayor Christopher Vergano reported three of the town’s five nursing homes were without power Thursday.

Thunderstorms over the course of the week have also impacted restoration efforts, PSE&G said in a Friday statement, and storms forecasted for Friday and Saturday could similarly affect crews.

In Bergen County, rain and thunderstorms are possible Friday and into the morning hours of Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

For customers still without power, PSE&G has added a day of service at three of their Customer Comfort Station locations, where they have been providing free ice and water since Wednesday. Locations in Paramus, Willingboro and Newark will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, as well as Friday.

Read more: PSE&G Creates 'Customer Comfort' Station In Paramus After Isaias