O&R declares a storm watch as more heavy weather due Monday

O&R has declared its second Storm Watch in the past two days as winds gusting possibly as high as 50 mph, accompanied by heavy rains and thunderstorms are expected to rake the region through the day on Monday.

High winds and thunderstorms can cause power line damage and electric service interruptions. O&R crews will be ready to repair damage and restore service as needed through the duration of the storm.

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 is following the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines during the health emergency.

For safety's sake, don't touch or approach any downed wire. Assume the downed wire is energized and dangerous. Do not try to move them or touch them with any object. Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden from view by tree limbs, leaves or standing water.

This new storm system is expected to rumble into the region late Sunday. Rain showers and southerly winds will intensify across the area overnight into Monday, followed by increasing winds, with possible gusts to 50 m.p.h. and moderate to heavy rainfall and thunderstorms, during the day Monday. Severe thunderstorms are possible on Monday, with the best chance of those storms occurring between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

O&R company and contractor overhead line crews and tree removal crews are currently making repairs and restoring service as a result of a windstorm that is currently pummeling the area.

Those crews will be ramping up for a high-volume outage response to the Monday storm, as will damage assessment, site safety, customer service operations and the wide array of O&R teams that support those functions. All personnel working on this emergency response will remain focused on maintaining safe, reliable service while protecting their families, customers and themselves.

There are several ways customers can report outages and check service restoration status:

* Go to the O&R website from any computer or web-enabled mobile device;

* Use the O&R mobile app from your iPhone, iPad or Android device;

* Text "OUT" to 69678 (myORU); or

* Call Customer Assistance at 1-877-434-4100

For more information, visit O&R's Storm Center at www.oru.com.