According to a press release from PSE&G issued at about 9:30 p.m. last night, weather-related outages are affecting service to about 570 PSE&G customers. The utility has restored service to 7,000 Hudson County customers whose power was interrupted earlier this evening when an underground cable failed. Additional crews will be working through the night to restore service. 

The Cranford Police Department is reporting that power has been restored to much of the area, following an outage earlier in the evening.

A section of Springfield Avenue north of Central Avenue was closed Wednesday evening as the Cranford Police Department responded to a downed utility wire, according to a Nixle alert sent out by the department.

Power outages affected residents on Springfield Avenue and Central Avenue as a result of the dowed wire. PSE&G crews and police officers are at the scene as repairs are under way, according to the alert.

The repair work is expected to last through midnight, the alert stated.

The demand for electricity as a result of the high temperatures today resulted in power outages in parts of New Jersey. According to the PSE&G outage map, there are still approximately 500 people in the Union County area without power.

"Today's unofficial peak demand was 9,772 megawatts set earlier this evening. The all-time peak demand of 11,108 megawatts was set in August of 2006," said PSE&G Spokesperson Karen Johnson in a press statement. "PJM, the regional grid operator, expects to have sufficient power supplies available to meet increased electricity usage as a result of the hot and humid weather."

Johnson said that to get ready for summer, PSE&G has made "substantial investments in its transmission and distribution system to maintain reliability and safely meet the increased demand for electricity."

According to PSE&G, customers should consider the following conservation and cost-saving tips throughout the summer:

• Turn off everything you’re not using: lights, TVs, computers, etc. Use dimmers, timers and motion detectors on indoor and outdoor lighting.
• Close blinds, shades and draperies facing the sun to keep the sun’s heat out and help fans and air conditioners cool more efficiently. 
• Close doors leading to uncooled parts of your home.  With central air, close off vents to unused rooms.
• Delay heat-producing tasks such as washing and drying laundry or dishes until later in the day, and wait until load is full.
• Refrain from using nonessential appliances. Unplug or use only when necessary an extra refrigerator in your garage.  Also, customers should consider setting their air conditioners to 78 degrees, health permitting.

If you experience a power outage, call PSE&G’s Customer Service line at 1-800-436-PSEG. Customers who are registered with My Account can also report power outages online. To do so, Log In now or register.

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