While New Jersey hasn’t had a major hurricane yet this season, September is National Preparedness Month and PSE&G reminds its customers about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies. Emergencies can happen at any time, and preparing ahead of time helps keep everyone safe.
“We encourage our customers to think about this year’s National Preparedness Month theme, ‘A Lasting Legacy,’ because the life you’ve built is worth protecting,” said Paul Toscarelli, senior director, emergency preparedness. “Safety is and has always been our top priority for our customers and employees. To help spread the word about being prepared, PSE&G partners with groups like Sesame Workshop. Taking the time to prepare and having a plan limits the negative impact of an emergency. Prepare and stay aware.”
PSE&G’s ongoing system improvements and enhancements to the grid help to provide service to the utility's customers. PSE&G continuously prepares for extreme weather to maintain reliability.
PSE&G infrastructure investments are delivering benefits for its customers, making its systems more resilient to increasingly severe storms. Tropical Depression Ida brought considerable devastation to New Jersey – however, the impacts would have been much worse without those investments.
Hardening New Jersey’s electric and natural gas networks against extreme weather events is a work in progress, according to the company.
"We have made significant headway during the past decade, but there is still much work to be done to protect our customers and our energy infrastructure against the impacts of climate change," the utility stated.
To educate its customers about the danger of downed wires following a storm, the company released the video below.
PSE&G also shared the following tips to help its customers prepare for a severe storm and other emergencies:
- Ensure you have a battery-powered radio and fresh batteries.
- Check your supply of flashlights, blankets, nonperishable food and bottled water.
- Create an emergency communications plan.
- Develop an evacuation plan.
- Charge your cell phones, tablets and other mobile devices.
- Make sure to have cash available. Banks may be closed or inaccessible after a storm.
- Fill up your vehicle’s fuel tank.
- Bring in unsecured objects and furniture from patios and balconies.
- Compile a list of emergency phone numbers.
- Discuss storm and lightning safety with your family. Visit https://nj.pseg.com/safetyandreliability/stormsafety for safety tips.
- Follow PSE&G on Facebook and Twitter for updates before, during and after the storm.
- Downed wires should always be considered “live.” Stay at least 30 ft away from downed wires, and don’t go near the pole or anything touching the line.
- To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, do not run any gasoline-powered generators in a garage or any other enclosed space.
- If you are on life-sustaining medical equipment, please have a backup plan in case of power loss and ensure that you alert PSE&G in advance and notify your local police and fire departments.
For more information about National Preparedness Month and what to do in an emergency, visit https://www.ready.gov/september.
