When will power outage be restored after nor'easter? Some not until Wednesday
About 100,000 state residents remain without power Sunday morning following the late winter nor'easter that swept across the Eastern Seaboard Friday.
The storm snapped trees and knocked out power to more than 1.8 million homes and businesses as it battered the coast from North Carolina to Maine. At least seven deaths have been blamed on the storm.
Storm death:Man electrocuted after touching downed wire during nor'easter
Morris County:48,861 still without power in Morris County after nor'easter
Waiting for power:Nor'easter knocks out power for thousands in North Jersey
JCP&L representative Ron Morano said 99,000 customers remain without power in New Jersey. He said power has already been restored to more than 100,000 as crews were out Sunday morning. He said power to most customers is expected to be restored by late Tuesday night with some on Wednesday.
He said the hardest hit areas – northern Morris and Sussex counties, won't have power until Wednesday night. He said more than 200 damaged poles, 1,000 spans of downed wire, hundreds of downed trees contributed to the outages.
"This was a significant and very damaging storm," Morano said. The wet heavy snow that fell all day Friday, combined with gusting winds over 40 mph made the restoration of power challenging.
Roxbury Schools Superintendent Loretta Radulic on Sunday posted a notice on social media sites announcing a delayed opening for Monday due to continued power outages and road closures.
Portions of Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Morris, Somerset, Union, Warren and Sussex counties reported outages as well as Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Burlington, but the majority were reported in northern New Jersey, Moran said.
PSE&G representative Erica Jordan said about 2,300 customers in New Jersey remain without power on Sunday, with the majority in Essex County. Power to all customers is expected to be restored by midnight Sunday, Jordan said.
PSE&G, via a press release at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday, said some customers who have had their power restored may lose it for a period of time, as workers take lines out of service so they can safely repair damaged equipment.
At the height of the storm on Friday, more than 54,000 JCP&L customers reported outages in Morris County. Randolph had the most customers affected with more than 8,000, or 75 percent of total customers.
PSE&G customers also had issues, with nearly 17,000 in Essex County and 900 in Bergen County. About 2,100 reported no power in Passaic County and less than 100 in Hudson County.
Mike Donovan, spokesman for Orange & Rockland, which services areas of Bergen, Passaic and Sussex counties, said about 1,300 customers remain without power in New Jersey. About 8,000 in New York still do not have power, he said.
Donovan said 90 percent of those affected should have power restored by midnight Sunday. But some, such as 30 homes without power in Upper Saddle River, may not have power until 10 p.m. Monday.
Crews are working around the clock until power is restored to all customers, Donovan said, adding that some jobs are more complicated than others. The company works to complete jobs that affect the largest amount of customers and are the quickest to restore first, then moves on from there, he said. He was responding to an Upper Saddle River customer who complained the company was concentrating its efforts in New York and ignoring New Jersey.
Friday's nor'easter brought winds up to 40 to 50 miles per hour with rain and some snow earlier in the day.
PSE&G customers can report outages to www.pseg.comor or by texting “OUT” to 4PSEG (47734). Downed wires or power outages may be reported by calling PSE&G’s Customer Service line at 1-800-436-7734.
JCP&L customers can report dangerous situations to 1-888-544-4877 and power outages using a mobile phone to text OUT 544487. Text STAT to obtain outage status.