Online O&R map shows outage sites, estimated restore times

Pearl River — When a thunderstorm passes through the area, one quick way to find out where power outages have occurred is to check Orange and Rockland Utility's outage map at www.oru.com. The outage map can be found at the Web site's storm information center, a service that offers an array of storm preparation tips, safety advice, facts about O&R’s electric service restoration priorities and other useful information. The outage map is designed to provide emergency service providers, local officials and customers with comprehensive, timely information about the nature, scope and impact of storm-related service interruptions. The map provides: An electronic map of the O&R service territory showing the location of individual power outages Color coding that reflects the range of numbers of customers within each outage General population data reported alongside the customer-outage information for the area to provide perspective about the impact of the outage The estimated service restoration time. The latest data from customer and field reports is plugged into the map every 15 minutes to help graphically depict the path of the storm, the scope of the damage and the estimated time of service restoration. The map is available through any internet connection so if your power is out, you can still access the map through web-enabled laptop, phone, Blackberry or other similar devices. The general public without electric service can get the general outage info by listening to local radio, but nothing as detailed as the map. If you experience a power outage, call O&R at 1-877-434-4100. Don’t touch or approach any downed wire. Assume it is energized and dangerous. Depending on the situation, you might want to call local police to divert traffic until an O&R crew arrives.