The Alternative Press

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Thousands of households are still without power, according to an update issued Thursday night by village officials.

According to the update, released at 10 p.m., Public Service Gas & Electric was reporting up to 3,000 outages as of Wednesday afternoon, down from 4,700 reported at the height of the storm. Across Essex county, PSE&G estimates 500,000 were without power.

According to information given to village officials by PSE&G, most South Orange households will not have power restored until the end of the weekend, at the earliest.

The utility focused on restoring substations and primary lines first. “South Orange is unique with power lines running through backyards,” the update reads. “On one hand, it enables our public works crews to open streets sooner (only a few streets are still blocked off, out of the nearly 75-100 that were blocked originally).”

Village officials noted they are working to expedite service to critical services such as schools, which also serve as polling places for Election Day. Another priority is fuel pumps for emergency service vehicles.