(NEWARK, N.J. – November 14, 2018) Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), New Jersey’s largest utility, is making preparations for the forecasted sleet, snow and freezing rain that could affect much of New Jersey Thursday afternoon into the evening. Experts predict snowfall anywhere from a dusting to 4 inches, with highest totals expected in the northern most parts of the state, followed by rain.

“PSE&G will have extra crews and storm support team members available after hours and throughout the night on Thursday to Friday morning to address any weather related outages,” said Jack Bridges, PSE&G vice president, electric operations. “We continue to monitor the weather and will adjust our plans as necessary based on updated forecasts.”

While many trees across the state already have lost their leaves, if heavy wet snow does accumulate on trees with leaves it could cause them to come down and potentially cause more outages, Bridges said.In anticipation of the storm, PSE&G is taking the following steps to ensure that the utility is ready to respond to any resulting power outages:

• Arranging for contractors, including tree crews, to assist the utility’s own skilled workforce.
• Ensuring that additional supplies, including poles, transformers and other pole-top equipment, are on hand.
• Refueling all vehicles.
• Testing generators at utility locations.
• Coordinating with county and municipal emergency management personnel to discuss outages and expedite restoration efforts.

Customers should be cautious and stay alert to their surroundings during and after storms.

What you can do now:

•  Be ready to communicate about your situation.
• Make sure you have a family emergency plan.
• Review storm preparation tips; visit https://nj.pseg.com/safetyandreliability/stormsafety.

Stay connected:

• Compile a list of emergency phone numbers; include PSE&G Customer Service 1-800-436-PSEG.
• Go to pseg.com/myaccount to sign up to report outages online and to check restoration progress.
• Go to pseg.com/outagecenter to check the “Outage Map,” which is updated every 15 minutes with PSE&G outage information, and to register for MyAlerts to receive text notifications.
• You can report an outage by texting “OUT” to 4PSEG (47734).
• “Like” PSEG on Facebook and follow PSEG on Twitter @PSEGdelivers.

Stay away from downed wires:

• Downed wires should always be considered “live.” Stay at least 300 feet away from downed wires. Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything it might be in contact with. If a wire falls on or near your car, stay inside the car, call 911, and do not get out until PSE&G deenergizes the line. If you MUST get out of the vehicle because it is on fire, jump as far as possible away from the vehicle, with both feet landing on the ground at the same time, and hop or shuffle away.

Other important safety notes:

• 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, ensure that you have alerted PSE&G in advance and notify your local police and fire departments. For more information, visit pseg.com/life.