O&R Utilities Prepares For Hurricane Henri’s Impact

Several hundred overhead line contractors and tree removal experts obtained by O&R are arriving today and tomorrow to deploy with the utility’s field workforce in a full-scale, all-hands, emergency response mobilization Sunday when now-Hurricane Henri, packing high, destructive winds and heavy downpours, roars through the region.

Those additional resources expand O&R’s field workforce by nearly nine times its normal size.

Those supplemental field forces will join O&R’s full complement of company and contractor overhead line crews and tree removal experts to repair storm damage and restore electric service that could be knocked out by the hurricane. O&R damage assessment, site safety, customer service operations and the wide array of O&R teams that supports those functions also will be ready to respond.

Weather Forecast

Chances for isolated showers and thunderstorms begin to increase late tonight into early Sunday morning ahead of Hurricane Henri. The hurricane will most likely make landfall across central or western Suffolk county late Sunday morning.

Rainfall Totals

Isolated showers and storms will become more numerous beginning around 4 a.m. Sunday, with heaviest rainfall expected between 6 a.m. and noon. Rainfall totals are expected to range from 2 to 5 inches.

Winds

Tropical storm force winds are likely beginning around 8 a.m. Sunday, with winds peaking between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sustained winds across O&R’s service area are expected to range from 25 to 40 mph with gusts of 40-55 mph.

Winds will begin to diminish Sunday afternoon as Henri moves north of the area, while also weakening. Rain and thunderstorms will become scattered in nature Sunday afternoon.

Winds gusts fall below 40 mph around 4 a.m. Monday as the Henri weather system exits into New England. Isolated showers and thunderstorms will likely linger into Monday as Henri continues to spin across New England. Henri exits into the Gulf of Maine by Tuesday.

Those strong winds may knock trees and branches onto power lines, causing customers to lose service. For safety’s sake, don’t touch or approach any downed wires.

Restoring Service

Once the weather clears enough to safely assess damage and begin electric service restoration, crews will give priority to clearing downed wires blocking roads and making repairs to critical and emergency facilities (police and fire stations, and hospitals, for example) and to those locations that will provide power to the most customers quickly. Then, crews will restore smaller outages and individual customers’ outages.

O&R personnel have been instructed to practice social distancing with each other and members of the public when responding to emergency calls in an attempt to keep everyone safe from the coronavirus. O&R asks members of the public as well to maintain appropriate social distancing when they encounter O&R employees working in the field, to provide for mutual safety.

How to Report an Outage

If you experience a power outage, don’t assume that O&R automatically knows about it. You can report it and check to see when your lights will be back on through:

• At www.oru.com/ReportOutage from any computer or web-based mobile device.
  
• O&R mobile app from your iPhone, iPad or Android device — download via Apple Store or Google Play.
  
• Text messaging by texting “OUT” to 69678 (myORU) or
  Call 1-877-434-4100.