Advisory: Garbage Collection Mon and Tues Only. Recycling and Thurs. Fri. Garbage Collection Cancelled.

Due to an inability to get timely fuel deliveries, Bergenfield DPW will be collecting garbage this Monday & Tuesday only.

Garbage collection for Thursday & Friday has been cancelled.

Recycling collection for the entire week is also cancelled.

We expect fuel deliveries to return to their normal schedule by mid-week and are hopeful that the normal garbage and recycling collection schedules will resume again on November 13th.

--Outage update: We are making steady progress. In three days, we have restored service to more than 1 million PSE&G customers following Hurricane Sandy. About 692,000 customers are currently without power.  The storm impacted 1.7 million of PSE&G’s 2.2 million electric customers. We’ve also increased the stability of our transmission system to ensure that the high-voltage lines can deliver the power.

-- Our estimate is that we will have virtually all of our impacted customers restored to service within the coming week. The majority of customers will be restored before then. After Nov. 9, there may still be isolated pockets of customers who have individual flooding or downed line issues that may take slightly longer.   

-- The storm surge flooded a large number of substations along the Passaic, Hackensack and Hudson rivers, and the Arthur Kill, disrupting service to customers in Hudson, Essex and Middlesex counties. The magnitude of the flooding in contiguous areas is unprecedented. PSE&G had to take these stations out of service, wait for the flood waters to recede to assess the damage, dry out the equipment, replace equipment when necessary and re-energize the system to restore service. We continue to make progress on the substations affected by flood waters from the tidal surge.  This is a painstaking process to thoroughly clean the equipment so theta it can be safely re-energized.

-- The total number of people who have come from other states to assist is now more than 2,000. This includes additional line personnel, tree crews and substation operators.

-- PSE&G’s key areas of focus are:
* Repairing our damaged switching stations and substations in Hudson and Essex Counties so we can energize them and deliver the power to customers.
* Gas refineries - We have restored power to the Conoco Phillips and Buckeye Pipeline gas refineries. We are making progress on restoring the other two refineries that we serve in the area.
* Gas stations - We are working with the NJ Gasoline Service Association to identify gas stations that have the commodity, but need power restored to get the gas flowing.
* Overhead infrastructure - We continue to clear trees, debris and downed wires from state, county and municipal roadways so we can begin repairing overhead infrastructure in Bergen and Passaic Counties.

-- Important safety information: Downed wires should always be considered “live.” STAY AWAY FROM ALL DOWNED LINES. Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything that it might be in contact with. To report a downed wire and other visible equipment damage, call 1-800-436-PSEG and tell PSE&G the nearest cross street.

-- To report a power outage, call PSE&G’s Customer Service line: 1-800-436-PSEG.

-- Crews work around the clock to repair equipment and restore power. The utility’s call center also has been fully staffed on a 24-hour basis to handle calls from customers. Other employees are assisting with assessing storm damage, keeping the public away from any downed power lines and other functions that support restoration efforts.

-- Electric crews work to restore power to the largest numbers of customers first, taking into account “priority” customers, such as hospitals, police stations, fire stations, water and sewer facilities, communications facilities (TV, radio, and telephone), and customers on life-sustaining medical equipment. At the same time, the utility restores power to homes and businesses, starting with the circuits serving the largest number of customers.

-- Customers with a handheld device, or who are at an alternate location with power, can also report power outages and view the status of their outage by logging in to My Account at pseg.com. General outage activity throughout our service territory is available online at www.pseg.com/outagecenter and updates are posted on pseg.com during severe weather.


-- PSE&G has activated its Twitter page to keep the public informed about our restoration progress. Sign up as a follower at http://twitter.com/psegdelivers to monitor restoration progress.

Advisory: PSE&G reports 2000-5000 residents still without power.

PSE&G is encouraging everyone who is without power to report their individual outage to 1 800 436 7734. PSE&G is aware that your call to this number may encounter a busy signal or a message to call back later. They are adding staff to the customer service centers to handle the overwhelming volume of calls. Do not be alarmed if the automated message says that there is no report of an outage at your location. They are aware of the general areas of outages, but they are not aware of all of the specific addresses.

PSE&G is currently working on the lines that will restore power to the most amount of people at one time. Once power is restored to the main feeder lines in your area, power should come back to your location unless there is a break in the line between your location and the pole.

As of this morning there were still 375,000 people in Bergen and Hudson counties without power. There were still several municipalities that did not have power to Municipal Buildings, Police departments, Fire Houses, etc.

There are still numerous roadways blocked by fallen trees, PSE&G poles, electric wires and transformers. The DPW cannot remove these trees until PSE&G responds and verifies that the electric line has been disabled. Once PSE&G tells us it is safe, the DPW will remove the trees and open the roadway.

Garbage and recycling is being collected on its normal schedule.

DO NOT PLACE LOOSE BRANCHES IN THE STREET FOR PICKUP. They will not be picked up.

DO NOT LET YOUR LANDSCAPER PLACE LOOSE BRANCHES IN THE STREET FOR PICKUP. They will not be picked up.

Branches must be cut and tied in bundles less than 4ft long and placed at the curb to be picked up by the DPW. It does not matter if the branches are from Borough or private trees. They must be cut and bundled.

Additional updates will follow as we receive new information from PSE&G.

Advisory: PSE&G Update, Electric service being restored slowly. 5,000-10,000 residents still without power.

--Outage update: With current estimates now indicating that the number of customers impacted
by Hurricane Sandy is 1.7 million, PSE&G has restored electricity to about 818,000
customers. At this time, about 882,000 customers are without power. The peak number has
jumped as the utility continued with its assessments and additional customers reported that their
service was impacted.

October 30, 2012, 7:58PM

PSEG is still reporting that power outages can be expected to last until next week.

Borough Hall is currently without power and will be closed until power is returned.

There are approximately 22 road closures in the Boro due to fallen trees and electrical wires. The DPW is working extended hours trying to clear the trees but can only do so after PSEG has verified that there is no current to the lines.

PSEG was in the Boro today trying to recharge a main line. That effort will continue tomorrow. PSEG will be restoring power to hospitals, schools and emergency service centers first. Then the will work on electric lines that service the largest amount of customers. Small electric feeder lines will be restored last.

DO NOT PUT BRANCHES IN THE STREET. Branches must be cut, tied and placed in bundles at the curb. Again, DO NOT PUT TREE LIMBS, ETC. IN THE STREET.
Thank you for patience and coperation.