PSE&G crews were called out over the holiday weekend to restore power following the high winds and severe thunderstorms that moved through New Jersey on July 3.
Damaging winds downed trees, power lines and approximately 165 utility poles across the utility’s service territory, according to PSE&G.
As of 10 a.m. Sunday, PSE&G had restored 138,000 customers since the start of the high heat event at noon on July 1.
“Given the week’s extreme heat and yesterday’s damaging storms, we have additional crews working safely to restore service as quickly as possible,” said Paul Toscarelli, vice president, Electric Operations, PSE&G. “We know being without power is challenging, particularly in hot weather, and we appreciate our customers’ patience. The damage we’re seeing means some repairs are extensive and will take time. Our crews, along with additional contractors and support personnel, are working around the clock this holiday until every customer who can safely be restored has power back.”
Restoring service after a storm of this magnitude can involve complex rebuilding of portions of the electric system, PSE&G said in a statement.
PSE&G deployed additional resources, including more than 100 vegetation management crews to clear fallen trees and branches from power lines. Once the trees are cleared, crews can then safely access downed lines and damaged equipment to begin repairs, the statement said.
Crews follow a restoration process designed to return service to the greatest number of customers as quickly as possible. They first repair damage affecting critical facilities and major transmission and distribution lines before addressing more localized outages and individual service repairs.
Photos by Joe Ungaro
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