Recently, our entire service territory faced storms and a record-breaking heat wave. For over a week, PSE&G crews worked tirelessly, braving severe thunderstorms and scorching 100-degree days, to restore power to thousands of customers each day.
During that time, our crews replaced over 500 transformers, and our appliance service business responded to over 8,000 appliance calls including air conditioning units.
Why does extreme weather cause power outages?
- Heavy rain or wind can bring down trees or tree limbs onto power lines, causing them to break.
- Extreme heat can overheat equipment or put additional stress on the electric system, making it work harder. Some equipment, such as transformers, breakers, electronic components or insulators, can experience overheating leading to inefficiencies or failures. Just like a computer or phone can get hot, these pieces of equipment can overheat and stop working properly.
How do we fix it?
Despite the daunting task this week, we mobilized resources quickly and safely across the state, working around the clock.
The good news is that, historically, most outage restorations are completed in about an hour. We prepare all year long with trained crews and supplies at the ready, so that when extreme weather strikes, we’re ready. Our response highlighted our preparedness, resilience and commitment to customer service.
- Rapid response: Crews were deployed immediately, assessing damage and using new technologies and proven experience to identify critical areas to work on, ensuring the fastest restoration for the most customers.
- Resource allocation: Additional crews were moved around the state to address the hardest-hit areas.
- Customer support: Critical facilities like hospitals and emergency services were prioritized. We maintained constant communication with our customers through our website, call center and mobile application.
Why do some outage restorations take longer than others?
While many outages are repaired quickly, some restorations occur in unique or challenging scenarios and may take longer.
For example, power lines that go through backyards present unique situations.
We need to determine whether the bucket truck or other equipment that we use on the street can safely fit behind the house in the backyard. Once in the backyard, the crew needs to inspect the equipment to see if trees, vines or other natural or manmade hazards are impeding on the powerlines and power equipment.
Check out our crews replacing a blown transformer in a customer’s backyard.
This one 25 kVA transformer previously fed eight homes. Since its original installation many years ago, many of the homes have increased in size, adding appliances, more air conditioning units and several electric vehicles, far outpacing what the original transformer was designed for. Then the heat wave hit.
Rather than replace like for like, the crew replaced the one 25 kVA transformer serving eight homes with one 50 kVA transformer serving four homes and split the service installing a second 50 kVA transformer to serve the other four homes.
Before the crew performed the swap, we spoke with customers about their energy demands and engineering visited to ensure this was the right solution.
Thank you to our crews
None of this would be possible without our highly skilled, hardworking, dedicated crews.
We appreciate their commitment to safety above all and operational excellence and customer service. We value their ability to do what’s right and get the job done in difficult situations.
When you see a PSE&G crew member, please express your thanks as they help keep the lights on and our homes cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Thank you to our customers
We understand how difficult it is for those who lost power during the recent heat wave. We appreciate your patience as our skilled workers work literally around the clock to get you restored.
That’s also why we invest billions in strengthening and hardening our infrastructure. With 2.4 million electric customers, our systems held up well overall during the extreme weather. We know that when we invest, make upgrades, and modernize our systems, our systems perform even better.
While extreme weather events are unavoidable, with the right near-term strategies and long-term investments, we can continue to effectively manage and restore our customers safely and as quickly as possible.
